I have been a space geek since I was a young child… Watching John Young and Robert Crippen launch aboard STS-1 launched my dreams to be part of the space program.
I have always looked to these trailblazers as a source of inspiration. Different Astronauts have inspired me at different times in my life and for different reasons.
For that reason, and so many more, I absolutely love to be able to celebrate National Astronaut Day on May 5th. It’s the 8th year of this celebration but I personally have been marking this day in history for a lot longer!
May 5, 1961 is the day that Alan Shepard became the first American in space. This historic date is the reason May 5 was chosen for National Astronaut Day. I love that there is now a day to take some extra time to highlight the incredible accomplishments of the spacefarers who inspire so many. I truly believe that Space Inspires! It’s inspired me and it’s how we hope to inspire students across the country with Higher Orbits. I also am a big believer in story-telling and particularly about telling the story of the journey one takes to get where they are in life. National Astronaut Day is a great opportunity to tell the stories of those who have ventured off the planet for exploration and to better our world on the planet.
Every year I struggle to manage my time well enough on May 5th to thank every single Astronaut that I want to because quite honestly – I want to thank them all! Every Astronaut’s story is different and as such, every Astronaut has inspired people in different ways. No, not everyone inspired by an Astronaut wants to go to space themselves, and that’s ok! But Astronauts can inspire us to dream bigger, look at the planet in a more caring way, and so much more.
So as we get ready to launch into National Astronaut Day 2024, I hope you’ll take a moment to think about how has space inspired you? How does it effect your every day life? (And if you think it doesn’t just take a look at whatever device you are reading this on! Computers/phones etc. all have spinoffs incorporated from space technologies!) And are there any Astronauts in particular who have inspired you? Then I hope perhaps you’ll find a way to thank those that inspired you. If you can’t actually thank them literally, thank them by helping to inspire the next generation of STEMists, Explorers, and Astronauts in some way.
To the Astronauts I have had the privilege and pleasure of working with over the years – THANK YOU! Thank you for inspiring people across the planet and thank you for inspiring me! Thank you to the Astronauts who support Higher Orbits Go For Launch! Seeing you inspire these stellar STEMists in person, well, it’s a truly life-changing event for them and I thank you for your mentorship and inspiration.
I look forward to a National Astronaut Day sometime in the future when we get to celebrate some stellar students who participated in Higher Orbits and then went on to become an Astronaut. That is going to be REALLY out of this world awesome!
Happy National Astronaut Day!
