As Commander Reid Wiseman looked out the window of the Integrity space capsule at the moon, he used words like incredible and phenomenal. Mission control responds, “Copy…Moon Joy.”
As I sat in my cozy recliner, I experienced a different Moon Joy, the amazingly beautiful display of humanity at its best:
🌜 According to NASA officials, the team of four astronauts named their capsule Integrity. “The name Integrity embodies the foundation of trust, respect, candor, and humility across the crew and the many engineers, technicians, scientists, planners, and dreamers required for mission success.” Wiseman said their mission goal was to help provide some “peace and hope for all humankind.”
🌜 Mission Specialist Christina Koch inspired us, “We will explore, we will build, we will build ships, we will visit again… but — ultimately — we will always choose Earth, we will always choose each other.”
🌜 Mission Specialist from the Canadian Space Agency, Jeremy Hansen, shared an Easter message: “No matter your faith or religion, for me the teachings of Jesus were always a very simple truth of love, universal love. Love yourself and love others. Something for us being here, looking back at all of you through one tiny window, that just resonates 100 percent true. Our goal as humanity should be to just follow in that example. There were many examples in the past, but that’s one example of love that we can just all follow in the footsteps, and it will serve us well.”
🌜 As the crew were making their moon observations, everyone shared many tears when Hansen revealed the team wanted to suggest names for two unnamed moon craters: one to be called Integrity after their ship, but the second held special significance. Hansen said, “We lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katey and Ellie…[The crater is] a bright spot on the Moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.” Wiseman’s wife died of cancer in 2020.
🌜 Pilot Victor Glover spoke just before Integrity lost radio contact for 40 minutes on the far side of the moon: “As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth, as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that’s love. Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all you are, and he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it. And that is to love your neighbor as yourself.”
The Artemis II space mission was not all about the moon, but about our humanity.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all the armies of heaven!
Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all you twinkling stars!
Psalm 148:1-3
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