If you love traveling, you must know that oddly satisfying feeling- You are done with planning your vacation, buying your tickets, and checking-off all the stressful items off your list, and are now ready to pack! Just looking at the items in your suitcase thrills you because it, sort of, provides you a summary of your vacation. Now imagine, you are heading on a mission to the moon instead, and looking at your summary. What would you pack if you had to leave this planet behind and embark on an adventurous lunar journey?
That’s exactly what NASA asked
NASA is getting ready for its Green Run Hot Fire test, which will fire all four engines of the rocket that will be used for the Artemis I mission. This test will ensure that the Space Launch System rocket is ready for the first and future missions beyond Earth’s orbit. To celebrate this milestone, they asked everyone to get creative and show them what we would pack in our #NASAMoonKit. Being the space-nerd that I am, I obviously had to create mine.
Besides essentials, this would be my NASA Moon Kit:
☑️ My favorite NASA/Tardis t-shirt
☑️ Chuck Taylors shoes. They’ll last a decade.
☑️ Soft, cozy socks
☑️ Tardis mug to remind me to explore more
☑️ A figurine of The Doctor to remind me of kindness above everything else
☑️ My trusty galaxy backpack
☑️ My most favorite NASA sweatshirt that I can wear straight for a week
☑️ A small plant
☑️ A warm blanket
☑️ Phone (I needed my phone to take the picture so I placed my last non-smartphone that I found yesterday)
☑️ I-pod
☑️ My worn-out but irreplaceable laptop
☑️ Headphones
☑️ Eyeglasses
☑️ Wallet (to store lunar bucks for the coffee from the moon canteen)
☑️ Lyra constellation necklace that my dad made for me
☑️ Kohl/kajal
☑️ Lip balm
☑️ Hair tie
☑️ Some diaries (four actually, you can never have enough diaries)
☑️ Pens (always safe to keep more than 3)
☑️ Pencils, eraser, and sharpener
☑️ Sketching pens
☑️ A sketchbook
☑️ Two books (This was the hardest. I picked LOTR & Carl Sagan’s Science as a Candle in the Dark)
☑️ Kindle (for the books I cannot carry)
☑️ A reading light
☑️ Rubik’s cube (to finally practice the algorithm)
☑️ A music box
Things I would take but didn’t have:
✅ A telescope to watch the earth-rise
✅ Some necessary tools
This is definitely a list made for fun. I could do without all of these except my laptop. I read that astronauts are only allowed a 5” by 8” by 2” volume when they travel to the International Space Station. That’s insane, right? They are probably eyeing at this kit with contempt right now.
How the list made it to NASA’s website
The coolest part about this was that NASA messaged me and asked if they could share this picture on their media. I signed a government document, and lo and behold, it was ON their website – Check it out! The little geek in me is doing constant pirouette right now. Or if I may say, I am on the moon.
Sorry.
To be honest, I initially had mixed feelings about this mission because of the politics involved in it. But any leap towards scientific advancement is worth celebrating. It is also a critical time in the history of American spaceflight because we will finally land the first woman on the moon. Here is to 2024!