Reaching for the Moon

There are few events in human history that enchant and fascinate me as much as the July 20, 1969 landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the moon. After centuries spent looking up at the moon and dreaming, humanity finally managed to reach the previously unreachable and touch the giant, craterous rock that serves as the largest light in the night sky. Though, of course, politics were very much wrapped up in this achievement, as they often are, and though many choose to question the fact that the moon landing ever even occurred, the fact of the matter is that it is one of the most triumphant, awe-inspiring moments humanity has achieved to date.

I think almost every little kid raised in the United States has a phase where they dream of being an astronaut. When I was very little, I spent a year or two convinced I was somehow going to be the first woman on the moon, the first woman on Mars, and eventually also the first woman president. Even now that I'm grown, I dream of and look forward to the possibility of seeing somebody land on Mars (or even the moon again) in my lifetime. I would love to one day have a child sit, enraptured, watching in awe as a citizen of Earth steps foot on the surface of Mars for the first time, just as my father sat and stared in sheer amazement when the first moon landing was televised.

In the end, similarly to the stars, the moon serves as a beautiful, constant yet simultaneously ever-changing facet of nature that encourages the human residents of earth to never stop dreaming and continuing to reach for that which was once proclaimed unreachable. Just as once, a "giant leap" was made for all of mankind, there is no telling what other giant leaps the future still holds.

The challenge for this week is to take some time to admire the moon. Keep skywatching, fellow Observers, and I'll see you again soon.