moon joy + earth grief
This essay was originally published on social media on April 11, 2026.
This week. These deeply imprinting days, for generations to come. My social media feed has been almost completely war atrocity and analysis + astronaut adoration and awe. Moon joy and Earth grief. The aftermath of bombs and the afterglow of the splashdown. People weeping at both poles of the human heart.
A spaceship named INTEGRITY. The immeasurable distance of the White House from any semblance of it. Gil Scott-Heron’s loud ghost.
Tender gleaming Earthling eyes. What our eyes get to see. What our eyes have to see. Unbelievable live streams. Earth rise and carpet bombing. The moon’s cratered surface and leveled neighborhoods. Technical precision at its astonishing heights and wanton destruction of universities, hospitals, ambulances, apartment buildings, sacred sites.
What we are capable of. What we are capable of.
I was struck by the title of a recent piece by Liz Plank: “Artemis II is Competency Porn and We Are Starving for It”. Ultra competence, camaraderie, kindness, brilliance, down to Earth while out in space, humility, adoration of purposeful work, cooperation, love, humor, astounding achievement, honoring of lineages. To witness this historic dream team is therapeutic soul salve. “Emotional support astronauts”. “Hopecore”. “Moon JOY”. Their zero-G hugs. The healing of Space Shuttle Challenger hearts.
An ocean of emotion for Artemis II’s epic journey.
One goddess flying around another. A number of people have commented that Trump is jealous of the Moon. Of course he is. Aren’t all patriarchal fanatics resentful of her? Also Trump is cutting $5.6 billion to NASA.
BREAKING: Our nervous systems.
The last time humans went to the moon, women could not have their own credit card. Christina Koch, the first woman to travel to the vicinity of the moon, and the very female on the ground team making the mission a success. Victor Glover, the first Black man to travel beyond low Earth orbit, with the Easter existential reminder, “You are special, in all of this emptiness. This is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe. You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.” Naming a bright crater on the moon Carroll, for Reid Wiseman’s late wife. Canadian Jeremy Hansen shared, along with the crew mission patch, his personal patch with the wisdom of the Seven Grandfathers designed by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond - acknowledging Indigenous communities whose knowledge guided him on his journey. Human gorgeousness.
Down below, the mad king postured as Thanos who can wipe a civilization off the map with a snap of his fingers. The world reeling with the most horrific WHAT IF. A number of people commented that one civilization did die that night, Western civilization. Israel has been bombing Beirut and southern Lebanon without restraint. A million people displaced. Not what if but what is.
The V-2 rocket was the first long-range ballistic missile used in combat and the first man-made object to enter space. The space age was birthed from weapon technology. ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) infrastructure directly enabled the launch vehicles of space capsules which were, in effect, the functional successor to warheads on top of those missiles.
Rocket fire directed at civilian infrastructure and neighborhoods, rocket fire to exit the Earth’s atmosphere to the Moon.
Looking back at the Earth, best planet ever, Christina Koch spoke of the incredible beauty, seeing coastlines, rivers shining in the sun, thunderclouds. My heart swelled and crashed to hear her beam, “You guys look great”.
Don’t we? Do we? Also Trump just gutted the Forest Service ahead of wildfire season.
All I want to do today is watch the rain fall on leaves outside. The moon is closer now. May all that hardens hearts be reminded of what all places and people look like in moonlight.
