Storyteller's Journey

An Early Earth Day!

This photo of Earth, taken by the crew of Artemis II, is just exquisite. It's such a beautiful photo of our planet.

When NASA launched the first crewed flight of the Artemis program for a lunar flyby on April 1st, a new era had dawned for the space program of the U.S.A. Watching their launch from Kennedy Space Center had me in tears - and again at splashdown, near San Diego, California.

While the mission made history on so many levels, what caught my attention was the eloquent way each of the four astronauts spoke about their experience while still in space:

"You can see the entire globe from pole to pole...it was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks." Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, 4/2/26

"You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place in the universe." Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, 4/5/26

"No matter where you're from or what you look like - we're all one people." Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen - first Canadian astronaut to travel to the vicinity of the Moon.

"When we burned the burn towards the moon, I said that we do not leave Earth, but we choose it. And that is true...But ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other." Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

"Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." Carl Sagan

Photo Credit: NASA