Safe in space

At the top of NASA's list of core values is safety.

If safety were the only core value, they could achieve it best by staying out of space. Space is inherently dangerous. But their purpose is to explore space. None of their missions are risk-free. Safety is what they try to achieve in the context of danger.

Taking Artemis 2 astronauts through space in a small life-sustaining room is the task of their spacecraft, Orion. 

What's outside? Just the harshest environment humans have ever faced: "extreme radiation, massive temperature swings, and deep space vacuum."

On its way

After some delays, Artemis 2 launched yesterday. Four astronauts are on their way. Following a swing around Earth, tonight they will break orbit and head for the Moon. (Note: the path of Orion turned out to be a bit different from what's shown in the video below.)

Orion is the crewed spacecraft which will take them there. It launched from Cape Canaveral on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. This is only the second flight ever for Orion. It flew without crew back in 2022 on the mission Artemis 1, that mission which confirmed for NASA that we now have a reliable deep-space transportation system.

But Orion has no landing ability. Landing on the Moon is planned for Artemis 4, which will take place at least two years from now.

Waited too long

Have you heard that it's more exciting to be a glamorous young woman than a married young woman starting a family? Some received that message and kept chasing that vision--until it was too late to realistically expect the other vision to come true, the vision of motherhood.

That particular window of opportunity has an expiration date. The author of this article says she thinks she's past the window and she regrets it.

If statistical data would be convincing to a young woman who wonders which is the happier path, she should consider this: "married mothers ages 22-35 are nearly three times likelier to report being "very happy" than their single childless peers (41% vs 14%)."

She says, "What teenage girls need is honest, hopeful messaging that marriage and family are not obstacles to a meaningful life, but its deepest source."

"If you find the right person in your 20's, don't hesitate. Commit. Build the life that actually fills the soul."

Personally: so glad I did.

from Institute for Family Studies