The Road to MSL

Confessions of a Space Geek
My MSL NASA Tweetup Story

Chapter 1: The Road to MSL

I have always been a "fan" of NASA and have always thought of myself as a bit of a "space geek." I have vivid memories of watching Apollo mission events on television at school and at my father's television store as a boy. I remember thinking "how cool" the moon buggy was and wanting to someday drive one. I remember watching in fascination as our first orbiting laboratory, SkyLab, was launched and utilized. I recall lying on my back one summer evening in Iowa, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Apollo-Soyuz linkup as it flew overhead on one of its orbital passes. I followed the entire shuttle program, being one of those children who thought the prototype orbiter deserved a better name than the one chosen by the powers that be, and sending in my postcard vote to have it christened "Enterprise." I mourned the losses of Challenger and Columbia. I celebrated the successes of the shuttle program, including the three astronaut catch of the disabled satellite, missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope, the launches of the first American women and African Americans into space, and the construction of the International Space Station.

STS-135
©MWilkinson

I watched countless launches and landings on television, and when regular television deemed them unworthy of air time, I listened on the radio and watched on NASAtv on the computer. I got up before dawn to watch shuttles on night launches streak across the eastern sky and in July 2011, was able to take my family to Kennedy Space Center to witness the final shuttle launch, STS-135 Atlantis, in person.

Ferguson & Magnus
©MWilkinson

About a year ago, I rediscovered NASA astronauts tweeting on their preparation for missions and started following various NASA Twitter accounts. When I learned that NASA held special events for their Twitter followers, I began to apply. First for STS135 Launch, then JSC Shuttle Simulator, followed by GRAIL and Juno launch TweetUps. I became what some of my fellow SpaceTweeps called a Tweetject. Then in September of 2011, I was finally selected to participate in a post mission Tweetup for STS-135 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Even though this was a very short event, lasting only a couple of hours, it affirmed all I had thought a Tweetup would be. A chance to hear from people who were at the heart of space exploration and share that with people who shared my own enthusiasm and interest. I was able to meet several of my Tweeps in person and extend our virtual friendships to the physical world.

©NASA/JPL

When it was announced that there would be a Tweetup for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, I knew I would once again put my name in for consideration. I immediately recalled those first images sent back from Mars in 1976 by the Viking probe. I remember how exciting it was that summer to see the surface of Mars for the first time. The image of a rock strewn landscape and a cloudless sky first in black and white and then in Martian ocre, are forever etched in my memory. Several probes and rovers followed, each contributing to our understanding of our neighboring planet. Curiosity is the most sophisticated of all the robotic probes that have been sent to explore space and I found myself totally captivated by its design and potential. Being more connected to this important mission was very compelling. So, my application was submitted and the wait for a reply began.

On October 9 I opened my email to find a message from NASAHQ. As excited as I was to read it, I also didn't want to see the fateful "regret to inform that you were not selected" phrase I'd seen on my other attempts. Sure enough, that's exactly what it contained. But wait, there was a glimmer of hope this time, I WAS on the Waitlist! It would take another two weeks before I would hear that I had been moved from the Waitlist to the list of Attendees for the MSL Launch Tweetup. I was so stunned when the second message arrived, I hardly reacted. Once I convinced myself, after SEVERAL re-reads of the message, that I was indeed invited, the celebration began! I was going to be at Kennedy Space Center to help send off Curiosity on its mission to Mars!


Upcoming Chapters
Compelled to bring into curriculum
NASA is NOT Closed
Who Says Smart Isn't Cool?
Lift-Off
#NASATweetup Reflections
It Continues to be Relevant