Start and Finish

FINAL FAREWELL: More news about the end of Mars rover Opportunity's last hours is coming to light. Apparently the last transmission from the over-achieving explorer was the nine words above. 

*Sniffle*

I can't tell you how many friends of mine posted something about Opportunity's end-of-mission message yesterday and added the sentiment "I'm not crying, you're crying." 

It's funny, thinking about it. Why would we be emotional about the end of a robot's mission?

I'm going to have to blame "Star Wars" for this one. I was raised on the sci fi serial, and anthropomorphized robots are an important part of that story. How we all fretted over the fates of R2-D2 and C3PO!  And those were just fictional robots, while Opportunity was a real 'live' one. 

Yesterday, while most people were sending Valentine's greetings, I used a NASA portal to send an message of appreciation to our dearly-departed rover. You can check it out here: https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/postcard/opportunity-rover/

Here's the sentiment I sent. ...

After you submit your postcard, you can read ones that others have sent. Not gonna lie, I got misty reading the messages. This 90-day-turned-15-year mission meant so much to so many.  

ACCEPTANCE: Great news came today via an email CJ received. He has been accepted into the esteemed Western Aerospace Scholars program!

He submitted his application a couple of months ago. It involved a couple of essays about why he wanted to join. I was a little bit worried about the application, because it involved asking his high school counselor and principal to certify his eligibility. Yeah, well, that would be me. ... I filled out the 'certifications' as his parent and counselor and principal. Fortunately, his application was satisfactory. :)

It will involve a month's worth of lessons he has to complete online. Per the program's website, "The online curriculum is a University of Washington college course focused on NASA’s space exploration program as well as topics in Earth and Space Science." That should be familiar territory for MPA students. :)

If he meets the curriculum goals, he will be eligible for the multi-day "Summer Experience." The summer school will allow scholars to "explore the universe in which we live, meet your fellow 'space geeks,' and challenge yourself to plan realistic a future space mission," per the program.

Added bonuses: The program is free and he'll earn 5 college credits from the University of Washington for completing it!