Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Glenn

I feel the need to write this today so I am. I was a privileged teacher when NASA chose to train me as an aerospace educator and I chose to continue my training in aerospace through most of my career. I have had the honor of hearing former Astronaut Senator Glenn several times in his life speak in large and small groups. His biggest rush “the need for speed” but his biggest fear “not coming home to my family”, and “bringing something unknown home to them”. “For as a human race everything in the new exploration of space is unknown to us: dust, microbes, bacterias, viruses, fungi, particles——so many unknowns and while as humans we try so hard to make sure nothing is brought back with us that our beautiful atmosphere protects us from…….we just never know and bringing something back that might harm my family, much less the humane race is a great weight”. Today his wife died of just that, Covid 19, his greatest fear, an unknown virus that has swept the planet Earth and killed thousands of its inhabitants. A virus that can cross species barriers, and take many shapes and forms. Except it was a virus that originated on his home planet not in space. And I today am very sad that his wife left us like that. She lost her life to a strange virus we know so little about when her husband was so worried what he could bring something back through the atmosphere to his home planet and to her. May they both be together and Rest In Peace knowing I admire both of them, because it is not just the Astronaut that goes into the unknown, it is the Astronaut’s whole family. Thank You , Mr and Mrs Glenn for your service and your sacrifice.