Now that the astronauts from the Artemis II mission are safely back on Earth, here are more reactions about what we heard and witnessed:
It’s okay to ask questions. The crew aboard Integrity asked mission control many questions. They ranged from confirmation about what they thought they heard, to where they should store items, to repeating of instructions. They did not hesitate to seek clarity whenever possible. They avoided making assumptions.
Mission control often provided guidance in the form of positive reinforcement. It was a pleasure to watch how to shape conversations with ease in short amounts of time. For example, during the lunar flyby, the Science team said things like, “Thank you! The descriptions of the colors you are seeing are really helpful. We look forward to hearing more about colors.” There’s so much packed into those three short sentences. By frequently saying thank you and offering encouragement, the team on Earth was helping to promote good morale among the astronauts. The Science team was also giving positive reinforcement to the astronauts for something they were already doing (describing lunar colors). And the team was giving clear instructions that they wanted more information specifically about colors. One of the best ways we can improve communication is to point out what people are already doing well when they convey information.
The male astronauts can and should be models of masculinity. It was refreshing to see and hear how the male astronauts were working with different team members, in contrast to some males in high positions within the federal government. The astronauts frequently spoke of love, gratitude, and unity. They did not bloviate. They did not make threats; they did not belittle others. All of this might sound soft and squishy, and maybe it is, but these same people were living in close quarters in space, staying calm and communicating clearly when things weren’t going as expected, and enduring stressors that most of us cannot fathom. To execute this mission they were required to practice physical, mental, and emotional discipline for many years.When they asked to name a lunar crater after Commander Wiseman’s deceased wife, they exhibited a humanity and tenderness that we rarely see in our leaders.
The female astronaut can and should be a model of femininity. She was the one who addressed issues with the toilet! Her hair was always aloft because of microgravity, but it didn’t matter. She and her fellow astronauts seemed to treat each other as equals. She didn’t need to wear jewelry, layers of makeup, or fancy clothes to capture people’s attention and respect. Like her male colleagues, she seemed comfortable with who she was, and her self-confidence made her and her work shine.
These were middle-aged people! While none of the astronauts were old, they also were not young. Brains and minds tempered by time, training, and experience are probably better suited for such a profound mission. Those of us who are similar in age to the astronauts now must confront the fact these astronauts underwent a rigorous experience that we, theoretically, could also undertake. So what’s stopping us?
I wish the astronauts had more time to recover before appearing before the audience in Houston. Less than 24 hours after they took a journey around the moon, travelled nearly 25,000 miles per hour through space, and then landed in the Pacific Ocean, they were expected to say something coherent in front of an audience? I hope someone explicitly told them that this public appearance wasn’t for them. It was for their team and the rest of us; everyone wanted to see them alive and well. But it is sure unfair to ask people who just underwent an intense physical and psychological experience to show up and say something as if nothing major had happened to them or us.
May the astronauts find ways to integrate this experience into their lives and have peace. Commander Wiseman correctly noted that only the four of them will understand the experience they just had. This, of course, gives them a deep interpersonal bond that only they can appreciate. However, this can also lead them to feel grief and isolation. They prepared for years for that experience and now it’s over. Most of the people in their lives will never comprehend what they went through. Words are also often insufficient. Throughout the mission, though most often during the lunar flyby, the astronauts said things like, “This is indescribable” and “There are no words”. When we rely on language to communicate external and internal experiences with each other, what do we do when we lack the vocabulary to describe what happened?
The astronauts are people with their own flaws and foibles. Despite that, they have been sources of inspiration for so many. The purpose of the Artemis II mission was to learn more about the moon. This mission also helped us learn more about ourselves and who we can be.
Maria Yang, MD 