To the Moon and Beyond
A new workshop of mine had its first outing just a few days before the initial attempt to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket carrying Artemis II. To the Moon and Beyond went down very well indeed. The venue was Brackloon National School in Westport, Co Mayo. Twenty-seven children listened intently to my experience of watching the Apollo 11 moon landing. That was back in 1969, a black-and-white TV, smaller than most contemporary laptops. A miserable picture due to its size and quality, however, it was one of the most influential moments of my life. Importantly, future explorations of the moon will be broadcast in 4K, thereby enhancing everyone’s viewing experience immensely.
Artemis II
I gave a brief introduction to the Artemis II mission, its SLS rocket, Orion, the Crew capsule, and the European Service Module (ESA). It is always important to me to highlight any European or Irish contributions to space exploration. The ESM was built in Europe, a collaboration of Germany, Italy, the USA, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Spain. The ESM is the heart of the mission, supplying power for manoeuvring, electricity, air, water, and thermal control. During the workshop, I told the children that several Irish companies are involved in the space industry. If space exploration interests them, they do not have to look far to find a pathway.
Drawing the European Service Module
In this workshop, I drew the ESM with the crew capsule in stages. Step by step, the children followed. We drew the crew capsule using triangles, circles, and curves. Drawing the solar arrays, with small pieces of white chalk on their sides, moved lightly against the paper in three stages. Some small triangles for the trusters on the ESM, and blue to represent the propellant, which is apparently accurate. It was great to receive immediate positive feedback from the children and their teacher, highlighting the success of the activity. The lovely group shot with their happy smiles says it all.
Norah Patten Irish Aeronautical Engineer
Obviously, I had to speak about Ireland’s Norah Patten, as she is due to reach the edge of space this year. She will be on board the Virgin Galactic Delta Class Space Plane. Norah is from Ballina in Co Mayo. I showed her tumbling during her 100-parabolic (microgravity) flight. The children were already familiar with her space exploits and delighted to see her working in such conditions.
To the Moon and Beyond
Before we finished, their wonderful teacher agreed that we could squeeze in a pencil drawing of the moon that night, January 29th. A waxing gibbous moon with a few features named the limb, mare, terminator, and highlands. The pastel drawings were all carefully stacked on a metal shelf, purposely for artworks. A display to be exhibited later in the school. All kinds of questions were asked, some about Artemis and some about Opportunity and its famous last words, “My battery is low, and it’s getting dark.” Some very keen students in that class.
Woman leading the way
Unfortunately, or perhaps it was indeed fortunate, Artemis II did not launch yet and is now back in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for repairs. This mission will likely not blast off until April. Which will, in all probability, make it a daylight launch. Hopefully, Artemis II, with its very patient and brave crew, will launch safely and have an extremely productive trip around the moon and back. The crew will, at some point on that journey, be the farthest humans have been from Earth. Also, for the first time ever, a woman, Christina Koch, a NASA astronaut, will fly around the moon and lead the way for a new chapter of space exploration. All four crew members are to be admired for their courage and positivity.
As I was writing this blog, NASA announced a new plan for the Artemis Mission. The Artemis II mission will launch this year. Then, in 2027, Artemis III will not land on the moon; it will also be a test mission. Next, the actual moon landing will come with Artemis IV in 2028.
More information on these Artemis changes here
Learn about the European Service Module here
Here is the Crew of Artemis here
