I’ve just seen Project Hail Mary and I’m already pinging around with happiness, telling nearly everyone—such as my sister, my dental hygienist, friends, and two unsuspecting cashiers—to go see the movie (if YOU haven’t seen it yet, well, you should!) when I get pulled into Artemis II’s mission.
Four astronauts. A moon fly-by mission. The farthest distance yet traveled by humans. The testing of new equipment. The paving of the way for future missions. Space hugs. Poetry, kindness, floating Nutella, love, and photos. Awesome photos.
For the first time in a long while, I’m part of a good, hope-filled, and inspired collective effervescence.
I’m a bit of a space nut anyway.
And this mission—coming to me after I’ve already been launched into orbit around the optimistic nature of Project Hail Mary which includes Ryland Grace’s transformational character arc and an amazing, best friend alien—punches every one of my space-loving-and-why-I-love-collective-achievement buttons.
Over the course of their ten-day mission, the astronauts (who many online are calling their moon besties and their emotional support astronauts) showcase the best qualities of humanity; competence, kindness, efficiency, teamwork, respect, leadership, humility, and humor.
There is something wonderful about seeing people do hard things well. To be reminded that we can all do hard things. That we can do them well if we work at it too.
However, that isn’t the main message the astronauts send to us as they zip around the moon. Sure, that is the message we get by example, by the proof of the mission’s success, and by the core of support in mission control. But instead, the message the astronauts reiterate is one of unity, teamwork, and love.
As Integrity moves closer to the farthest point humans have gone, Victor Glover says, “And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the moon.” While at the end of a poetic statement, Christina Koch says, “We will always choose Earth, we will always choose each other.”
For the nine days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes of the mission, held as I am by gravity, I don’t forget about the world’s sorrow, the genocide, the wars. But for those 9 days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes of the mission, like the astronauts, I can see Earth from a distance, can see it as a whole, can better see how we are all connected, and, in that seeing, be reminded of kindness, hope, and love. I can be one of the many choosing each other.
To keep doing so after the mission is over, I plan to follow astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s words. He says, “All you have to do is wake up every day and just use your energy for good.”
One day at a time, one good choice at a time.
It also seems so hard.
For humans will always make horrible messes. And we should clean them up. Humans will always do terrible things. And we should do our best to stop them. But there is also a flip side to the human coin where humans do good things. This time, that flip side is demonstrated by live-streamed astronauts as they do their tasks with competence. As they stare out windows back at Earth and say they love us. As they look at newly seen parts of the moon or watch the Earth set and are awed. As they travel just a bit farther than anyone else and share their experience with us.
While there are horrible things on Earth to address, wrongs to right, injustices to fight against—and there likely always will be—there is nothing wrong with stepping into joy when it bubbles our direction and invites us to be a part of it.
I step into it, acknowledging that, in their own ways and synchronistically timed together, the Artemis II mission and a movie have given me unexpected joy. I was one of many who got pulled into the collective effervescence being tagged as Moon Joy. I’m glad I was.
In the future, soon, I hope I… I hope we all get to experience more collective effervescence. Maybe it won’t be Moon Joy the next time (or maybe it will be with the upcoming Artemis III mission), maybe it’ll be some kind of Earth Joy.
Whatever it is, however it comes—while I’m doing my best to wake up and use my energy for good—I’ll be looking for it. I hope you will as well.
For we are all here together. We are explorers somewhere in our spirits. We are built to feel awe. We are given or can acquire skills we can share with each other. And we are the ones here on Planet Earth. As Koch said: Planet Earth: you are a crew.
We are the crew.
And crews work together.
Why not work together more to create joy?
