By Richard Tew/Space and Technology Editor for The Post Newspaper
When Swedish poet and minister Carl Boberg penned “O Store Gud” in 1885 he could not have imagined the English name of the popular gospel hymn-later called “How Great Thou Art”- being would be used in reference to last Monday’s record-breaking event by the crew of “Integrity” as they rounded the Moon.
Last Monday was a pivotal moment for the Orion spacecraft known as Integrity. This marked the zenith of its ten-day mission as it passed 4,067 miles in front of the opposite side of the Moon from Earth, referred to as “the dark side” of the Moon. In all, Integrity traveled 252,756 statute miles since its launch last Wednesday.
For their efforts, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen broke the record for the furthest distance in space humans have ever traveled, besting the crew of Apollo 13, the previous record holder.
At about 5:35 p.m. (CST), Orion, the Moon a tiny, distant Earth came into view via cameras on the module’s solar arrays.
When the clocked showed 6:26 minutes before Integrity entered radio silence for some 40 minutes, Johnson Space Center Public Affairs Officer Leah Cheshier-Mustacio shared some poignant thoughts as she broadcast commentary of the space agency’s live stream from Mission Control.
“You’re getting your first live look at Orion the Moon and the Earth; everyone in this picture,” said Cheshier-Mustasio. “Currently aboard Orion, four crew members: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christian Koch and Jeremy Hansen and on the Earth, all of us, all of humanity.”
Before the crew entered the 40 minute the Loss of Signal stage “LOS,” capsule communicator “CAPCOM” flight controller and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons shared well wishes from mission control.
“Integrity, Houston, you are six minutes from your 40-minute Lunar flyby LOS. From all of us, it’s a privilege to witness you carrying the fire past our farthest reach. Thank you, Godspeed.”
Glover offered live commentary about the mission while marrying his personal faith with his interest in science as Integrity traveled past its halfway mark, as he and his follow crewmates passed in front of the dark side of the Moon.
“It’s quite amazing,” said Glover. As we go on this journey, I’m thinking about the NASA mission to explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity, and the inspire the world through discovery, and as you’ve gone along this journey with us, ultimately, we are doing just those things. And as we get close to the nearest point to the Moon and the farthest point from Earth; as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth and that’s love. Christ said in response to what was the greatest command and that it was the love God with all that you are. And he, also being a great teacher said the second is equal to it, that is the love your neighbor as yourself and so as we prepare to go out of radio communication we’re still able to feel your love from Earth, and to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the Moon.” said Glover.
After Glover’s comments, there was a brief pause in the commentary from the broadcast before Cheshier-Mustachio broke the radio silence with the words “How Great Thou Art” in reference to the awe of the views the world was beginning to see.
In an interview conducted late Monday night, Cheshier-Mustachio, who started at JSC as an intern in 2015, reflected on her Christian faith, crediting it with how she has viewed the mission so far.
“You get to be part of this mission that we’ve really seen over the last week many people that so many people are latching on to and it’s inspiring so many people around the world,” said Cheshier-Mustascio. “It’s really a testament to the crew.”
Cheshier-Mustachio says prior to the Artemis II mission, her favorite mission was Apollo 8 when astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman took turns reading Genesis 1-10 while on their mission to the Moon and back. She says when she heard Glover’s remarks and saw Integrity, the Moon and Earth together in one place, she thought of God and His greatness.
“You look at that and the comments that Victor made and it’s hard to deny how great God is in that moment.”
As the crew passed in front of the far side of the Moon, they identified and named two craters not visible back on Earth. One they named after their spacecraft Integrity, and the other named after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife Carroll.
At a recently press conference at The Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glover, Koch and Hansen said in an emotional video interview from space, they discussed naming the craters before launch and told Wiseman. When the announcement was made during NASA’s live broadcast, the sound of sniffles from the raw emotion of the moment could be heard as the crew reacted to the announcement over the air. The two naming suggestions will be presenting to the International Astronomical Union for formal approval at a later date.
Integrity and her crew made a successful landing back on Earth last Friday afternoon at 7:07 (CST), after a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean just off the California coast near San Diego ten days after launching from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
To listen to the full audio interview with Leah Cheshier-Mustachio and other interviews including interviews from national and foreign media covering the historic mission, visit The Post’s Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@ThePostNewspaperPodcastchannel.
Cutline:
Integrity made a successful splashdown Friday afternoon at 7:07 PM (CST) in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego after a historic record-breaking mission. Photo by Richard Tew via the official NASA broadcast.
