1Explorers Club Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing. I recently returned from the annual Explorers Club dinner weekend, which is always a highlight of my year. Of all the organizations that I belong to this one gives me the most joy. It is inspiring and humbling to be in the presence of such an accomplished group of individuals. People who are exploring the furthest corners of our earth and well beyond. This year, we were privileged to have eight Apollo astronauts sharing their stories of going to the moon. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11; Michael Collins, Apollo 11; Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7; Charlie Duke, Apollo 16; Fred Haise, Apollo 13; Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 13; Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9, and Al Worden, Apollo 15.
I am still in awe.
Also, every year at the dinner, the Explorers Club gives out its highest awards to its fellow members. I was impressed that several of the winners in their acceptance speeches encouraged a more heartful way of viewing the world. Explorer Club Medal winner, Dr. Kenneth Lacovara, felt we should express gratitude instead of pride. Sweeney Medalist, Milbry Polk, said that exploration is about people getting along throughout our world. New Explorer Award recipient, Ian Mangiardi, expressed our need for the conservation of human nature. Honorary President, Dr. Bertrand Piccard, actually began the award ceremony by saying that the real next frontier of exploration is spirituality (however you define it for yourself, I might add.)
27 Things to Know About the First Day of Spring. The spring equinox was Wednesday, March 20th. If you are like me, I was wondering why do we have an equinox? How many hours of daylight do we get on that day? Over an entire year, does every spot on Earth get an equal number of daylight hours? Can I really only balance an egg on its tip during the equinox? Is there an ancient monument that does something cool during this time? Are there equinoxes on other planets? Well, here is an article that can answer all of these questions – a brief scientific guide to the first day of spring.
3New Photos from Jupiter Look Like a Van Gogh Painting. Twenty-four impressionistic-esque photos were taken from NASA’s Juno spacecraft on a recent eight-thousand-foot flyby over Jupiter’s northern hemisphere. Surprisingly, the images are very painterly looking!
Jim B.