Today immediately before today's landing of @NASAPersevere, I had the honor and pleasure of discussing the significance of today's successful mission with my @dexterlearning Astronautics 101 students.

And I have good news to share, real cause for optimism.
What many grownups overlooked is today's landing of Mars Rover Perseverance–launched this past July atop one of the most successful rockets in history of space exploration: @ulalaunch's mighty #AtlasV–is the first major successful space mission for a generation of young students.
When I was 4 humans walked on the moon.
When I was 8 astronauts lived in space on Skylab.
When I was 16 the Space Shuttle launched.

These moments define me as a person. Essentially, each one led me to be looking forward to the future.

Each one fueled me with possibilities.
Talking about today's mission, my @dexterlearning class discussed space jobs, like engineer, like astrobiologist.

Like mission control, like mathematician.
Like space athlete, like space YouTuber.

Most importantly, jobs they had been given permission to imagine for themselves.
Permission granted, we then discussed failure. To get to succeed, we all know failure happens. This is true of space. This is true of science. This is crucially true of life.

So: we talked about the diligence it takes to insure the math and trajectories are perfect for landing.
With all of that–knowledge, inspiration, empowerment, and wisdom–we wrapped up class and I did what every good teacher does with our prized students: I set them free to go experience life for themselves.

Well equipped, they flew off in all the directions to take in THEIR story.
IOW, an entire classroom of excited young children witnessed the impossible become reality today, and it is going to inspire their possibilities for the future for the rest of their lives.

That's what we did today. Us people. We Earth humans.

IOW, you and me? Today we did good.

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More from @MikeMongo

4 Jun 20
OH YES WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSCIOUS ABSENCE OF BLACK AND POC VOICES AT SPACE SCIENCE CONFERENCES
I say conscious because organizers know. THEY KNOW. Space science conferences are one of THE WORST offenders for *not* making inclusion a priority.
How do I know space science conferences are some of the worst offenders at NOT making inclusion a priority? I AM GLAD YOU ASKED.
Read 27 tweets
2 Nov 18
This tweet is difficult to parse however once threshed the takeaway is chilling:

With this election, the US President is methodically culling the entire National Republican Party of any members but loyalists.
Trump isn’t taking out Democrats; Trump is taking out Republicans–who aren’t Trump supporters!
The action of removing your weakest opponents and supporters is a historically sound despotic method for consolidating support into power. In other words, Trump as US President is usurping control of the GOP–an entire US political party “purified” into undiluted Trump idealists.
Read 7 tweets
30 May 18
So I have something to come clean to and it’s really awesome and I’m really happy about it and it may not matter to you but it matters to me. Here it is:

I was wrong about @JimBridenstine.

He’s not only not bad, he’s really good. He’s good for space and he’s good for @NASA.
Before @JimBridenstine was appointed I was torn. NASA needs an administrator. It’s an imperative. Without an administrator it’s a large organization without focus or lead. That’s potentially cataclysmic. Yet I was really nervous Rep Bridenstine would be anti-science, anti-people.
At the time, I studied (then-)Representive Bridenstine’s history, his votes, his comments, his posts and writings, his support, and his positions. And I was concerned.
Read 17 tweets

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