Trust me when I tell you this is one of the coolest things I have *ever* done for my show.
I was allowed into the Apollo Moon Vault - this is where they hold all of the rock/soil samples collected from the 6 missions to the moon.
@NASA_Johnson Inside the Lunar Sample Lab at @NASA_Johnson (located next to the vault), they have some rocks on display.
The "Genesis Rock" is one of them. This rock is perhaps the most famous rock brought back from the Apollo missions. It was collected during Apollo 15.
@NASA_Johnson The rock got its nickname from reporters covering its story because the Genesis Rock did a couple of things:
1) Provided evidence that the moon was once covered in an ocean of magma 2) Contributed to the theory that the Moon was formed by a Mars-sized object colliding with Earth
@NASA_Johnson But perhaps the most meaningful stop was the Apollo 11 lunar sample collection.
These were the first rocks EVER brought back BY humans from another planetary body. These samples mean so much to so many. Science, exploration, culture. All within a few inches of me. Such an honor.
I want to use my spaceflight to uplift and shine a spotlight on my home state of West Virginia.
If space travel were a pagent - my platform would be the Mountain State!
I've worked to find some incredible WV teachers and I'm hoping you'll help me clear their wish lists 👇
Here's my friend Therese!
- she moved to West Virginia from the Philippines
- both her and her husband are science teachers
- teaches 7th grade science in Summers County
- has worked a local STEM camp in WV for the last 4 years
-teaches 4th grade at a Title I school in Triadelphia, WV
- Started a robotics club (see a couple of the students she inspired to join below)
- Just had her first baby last year and is returning to teaching this year
The way that much of the public reacted to OceanGate was unsettling. The dehumanizing and trivializing of human life was incredibly off putting.
Yes, we know why the jokes were made. People are fed up with income inequality. Infuriated at the contrast b/n OceanGate and Greece.
But I want to share a quote that summarized why it was so unsettling from @emilyinurphone over on Insta. She says “the world is a cruel place and rallying around the death of a perceived enemy is a way to build community and inure yourself against your own suffering…. (1/2)
@emilyinurphone …But when you talk about it in the public square you are normalizing this type of conversation around death and dehumanization” (2/2)
A moment of silence for the absolute MAGIC space industry photogs are creating right now. You are bringing this mission to life with your art. Thank you. 🙏🏼 here’s a thread of some of the best photos taken of Artemis 1 👇🏼
Yesterday I took down my posts about how @TSA treated me at @flyLAXairport. I was embarrassed at how emotional I was. I was anxious about the confrontation. So I deleted it.
But they make too many mothers feel this way, so I’m going to talk about it bc this needs to stop 🧵
Here’s what happened. Yesterday was my 1st trip away from my 10wk old son, who I’m currently breastfeeding. I’m going through security at LAX. I brought my pump and 2 ice packs - only 1 of which was cold (I won’t need the other until I come home, when I’ll have more milk).
I didn’t currently have any milk but I was planning to get a last second pumping sesh in before my ~5 hour flight.
Two male TSA agents told me I couldn’t bring my ice packs through bc they weren’t frozen solid. (This is the key part of the story)
This Mother’s Day I want rights over my own body.
The decision (likely to be) made by the Supreme Court has been yrs in the making.
When I was pregnant, we could slowly see this playing out. & let me tell you, it’s pretty awful being pregnant and having pro life family members
🧵
It’s awful knowing that they would prefer you die if it meant that your pregnancy might ultimately end up w/ a birth. Every blood test/scan is terrifying regardless, but especially so when you know that certainly family members prioritized that fertilized embryo over your life.
And if you’re a single issue voter and think “no! We love you! That’s not what I support! Of course if you might die that would be a unique circumstance!”