Work Text:
26 Years After Its Launch, The Hail Mary’s Beetle Probes Have Returned To Earth
No information regarding their contents or the condition of their journey from the far-off star of Tau Ceti has been released to the public yet, but soon we should know whether Project Hail Mary was successful in finding a cure for our dimming sun.
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#general-chat
inez: Maybe it’s time to bring this place back to life @everyone
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TO BE OPENED BY EVA STRATT ONLY (If she’s still around. If not, you can throw it away)
Hi Stratt,
Yao and Ilyukhina both died on the trip. When I woke up, I was alone, and I couldn’t even remember my own name. I can’t forgive you for that, but I guess there’s no point in making you feel more guilty than I’m sure you already do.
So, look. You saved the world. Nothing to be ashamed of there. When I think back on Earth, I’ll imagine it bright and beautiful, lit by a fully-functioning sun and populated by billions of brilliant humans doing their best. That’s because of Project Hail Mary.
And I can’t even say I wish it didn’t bring me here, because I’ve made a really good friend out of it, and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. More on that later. But PLEASE start with the taumoeba data—it’s the first big folder titled “IMPORTANT - Taumoeba Data - Use To Save World”.
Okay, I think that’s it. Say hi to Earth for me. I’m gonna miss it.
– Dr. Ryland Grace
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Allie Beck @aldrinbeck
I can’t believe the beetles are back. I was just a kid when the Hail Mary launched. I remember my parents trying to very gently explain the concept of a suicide mission to baby me and I just couldn’t take it. Feels like a million years ago now.
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#general-chat
Beau: Holy shit.
Beau: We can curse in here now, right? We’re all grown adults with mortgages and stuff.
inez: Haha yeah, I think that’s fine.
abbydabby: Speak for yourself, I still rent.
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‘I have more pressing concerns at the moment’: Former Hail Mary Director Eva Stratt Repeatedly Refuses Requests For Comment Amidst Probes’ Return
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#general-chat
Ava Jenkins: Oh my god. I was already emotional from the Hail Mary news this morning, looking through this server is making me cry.
inez: How is everyone doing these days? Please give us all the updates!
Ava Jenkins: I am a stay-at-home mother to two beautiful daughters :)
Ava Jenkins: 1 Image
abbydabby: OMG congrats!!!! They look just like you!!!!!!
abbydabby: Hello from very chilly NYC, I am a financial advisor for a small hedge fund. Exciting, I know.
Regina S: Oh my gosh hi everyone!!! I just got the notification!!!
Regina S: I live in Atlanta with my husband and our son. I do project management for software development, and paint sometimes on the side.
Beau: This is insane. You all are still little dweeby teens in my mind.
Beau: I’m still holding it down in Frisco, because I guess someone has to…
inez: I’m in LA but I still visit SF at least once a year!
inez: Oh, and I’m a pediatrician. No kids of my own, I get enough of them at work LOL.
Beau: @inez ever had a celebrity’s kid as a patient?
inez: @Beau Ever heard of HIPAA?
Beau: @inez so that’s a yes ;)
inez: Bringing back this server was a mistake.
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Hail Mary Logs Sent In Outdated File Formats, Cause Trouble For Decrypters
“Our computers aren’t built for this stuff anymore,” says one recently recruited programmer at the multi-national effort to extract the data sent by the Hail Mary’s Beetle probes. “We’re having to scrounge up older computers that haven’t been updated in years. And they’re not exactly the fastest machines we have.”
Despite the complications, those participating in the task remain confident and optimistic. “This is, without a doubt, the most exciting thing I’ll ever get to do—I’m helping save the world,” said another programmer, who left her lucrative job at a tech company to join the project. “I keep saying that to myself as I spend all day watching a download bar slowly fill up.”
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#general-chat
Regina S: Snowing in Atlanta today.
Regina S: 1 Image
Regina S: I’ve been told by colleagues who grew up here that it used to be a rarity. Schools would close at the mere possibility of snow. Not so much anymore.
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From: [email protected]
To: [Group: Beetle Decryption Project]
Subj: Week 1 Taumoeba Findings
Hello all,
Attached are the findings from our first week of gathering data from the John and George taumoeba farms.
While they cannot survive in Earth’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere, they appear so far to be completely stable in the atmospheric conditions of Venus. And most importantly, in all of our tests, they consistently kill any astrophage present.
While these results are promising, there are thousands of variables still not tested and even more not even considered yet. Our nearly three decades of astrophage research should easily demonstrate that we are at the beginning of a long journey towards understanding our place in the wider universe and all the life that populates it.
Sorry to get a little poetic, but it truly is a moving experience to make contact with new life. I look forward to our journey together.
Best,
Dr. Alexander Lynch
Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Dept. Chair
Attached: TM_Atmosphere.xl, TM_Atmos_Methods.docx, TM_Micrograph.png
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#current-events
speedoflight: oh my god. he was the only one left. cnn.com/article/dr-ryland-grace-the-sole-sur
abbydabby: That’s awful. He was all alone out there.
inez: I can’t even imagine how that must’ve felt. 12 light years from home…
Beau: I feel bad for making a joke as a 13 year old that he was gonna die alone. I swear I didn’t mean it like that.
speedoflight: i always thought he was gay. like i swear there was a rumor going around that he had a long-term partner he didn’t talk about
abbydabby: I heard he was just totally in the closet or in denial or something. That’s why he was always flirting with the chorus teacher everybody liked. What was his name?
Beau: Being closeted in San Francisco is pretty embarrassing idk
inez: Okay, that’s enough of that.
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Meet Taumoeba: The Astrophage’s Natural Predator
It may not look like much, but top scientists say that this alien microbe is going to bring back the sun.
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ian cohen @iantheman
“astrophage” is such a great name. “taumoeba” not so much. i think we could’ve workshopped it a little first
Naomi @govgirlie
when it’s your turn to die alone in space to save the world, you can name it whatever you want
ian cohen @iantheman
i’m just saying. they should’ve sent a poet.
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Multi-National Space Program Alliance Begins Work on Charite Program to Send Taumoeba to Venus
The three probes - named Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, after the three attendants of Aphrodite in Greek Mythology - are being prepared to launch in a scant eight months.
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From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Folder 2
Hey, have you looked at the first few decrypted files from the first non-taumoeba folder yet? I don’t even know what I’m looking at.
They’re like, MIDI sequences? But I have no clue what they could possibly be for. Should we call in a music expert? That sounds like a crazy thing to do. Let me know what you think!
- Jess
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Re: Folder 2
Jess,
I think it’s even crazier than that. We need to call in a linguist.
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#general-chat
abbydabby: Very weird to look at the news and see a mention of “Dr. Ryland Grace”
abbydabby: Like, that’s my science teacher
Ava Jenkins: I definitely have moments of feeling a little possessive about it.
abbydabby: I KNOW RIGHT!!!!
abbydabby: My friends and I have been mourning him since we were kids, what are you doing here?
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Just Another Sign of the Times: Eva Stratt, 26 Years Later
Simon Aarons | The Pacific Magazine
When I told friends and family I was taking a work trip to Amsterdam, they had many guesses as to why—I was interviewing a tech CEO, writing a follow-up to my piece on the legacy of Anne Frank, or maybe lying altogether about the work part to have a good time in the Red Light District. In all their guesses, the real subject of my work never came up once, and it didn’t much surprise me. The name Eva Stratt has been forgotten by most.
In a mid-sized apartment on the outskirts of the Dutch capital lives a woman who may soon become more vindicated than anyone in history since Semmelweis, or perhaps Copernicus. She was once a high-profile prisoner for a laundry list of crimes, ranging from espionage to accounting fraud, but those days are far behind her. Now, she lives a quiet life in Amsterdam with her bike, her garden, and her cat Kiezel.
The last one, she is quick to inform me, was not a deliberate choice. “A neighbor’s new boyfriend was allergic, so they asked me to keep him for a few weeks until they found him a new home. That was two years ago.” Stratt wears a worn, cream-colored sweater and no makeup to cover the visible wrinkles on her face—much cozier than one would expect from an international criminal—and despite the exasperation in her tone towards the cat, she doesn’t seem to mind the company. “We have a good working relationship. We don’t bother each other much,” she says with a shrug as she leads me into her home office.
The former Petrova Task Force director’s office does not disappoint: A dark wood desk housing a state-of-the-art laptop with a huge extra monitor, filing cabinets that require both a key and passcode to open, and a wall-spanning bookshelf stacked with everything from Moby Dick and The Sound and the Fury to histories of the Roman Empire and US Reconstruction to ESA spacecraft manuals and the most recent issue of Nature. I ask if she’s read everything on the shelf and she laughs. “More or less.”
Though they rarely publicize it, many space programs and scientific institutions across the globe maintain a relationship with Stratt, and she makes her living consulting with them on administrative matters, a subject on which she has become an unparalleled expert. “I am not a scientist,” she says to me, like it’s something she’s said many times before. “Or an engineer. But I’d like to think I understand how they work. They do their research for its own sake, which is beautiful, but it can be a liability. My job is to help facilitate the structure that keeps their research grounded.” Before I can comment on her ironic turn of phrase, she must notice my quizzical expression and adds, “It must be grounded before it can fly, Mr. Aarons.”
Next, she shows me the garden on her balcony—an impressive spread of planters lining the whole of the railing and a few larger pots on the floor, all growing edible plants. Stratt prioritizes fruits and vegetables that will grow in a wide variety of climates and conditions, like tomato, potato, and summer squash. “Thank god for the New World,” she says with a chuckle. She plucks a tomato off the vine and offers it to me. It’s quite a good tomato.
To end my visit, we sit at the table in her small kitchen with mugs of tea, and I finally breach the topic I’m surprised Stratt hasn’t brought up herself in our time together: the return of the Hail Mary’s probes. She spent three years in prison for spearheading the mission’s launch and has never once shown any regret for her actions, and yet now, she is reluctant to discuss it. “They’re doing great work at the Charite Program. We keep in touch.” When I press for more about her own feelings on the achievement or whether she believes taumoeba will be the savior she hoped for, she only shakes her head. “It’s not mine anymore. The Task Force and I, we did our work for the world. Now, I must trust the world to continue the work, like I trusted the crew of our ship.”
So, I discover, this is not a woman who minds being forgotten. It’s hard for me to believe someone could be so selfless, but it’s foolish to think I’ve really seen all sides of someone like Eva Stratt. Her demeanor has felt nothing but genuine throughout my whole visit, but there is still the thorn of those locked filing cabinets and the mystery surrounding her current work. As a final question, I ask what she’ll do if and when the sun comes back, and she really considers it for a moment, shifting her gaze just slightly to look out the window. With the hint of a smile, as if remembering an old friend, she answers, “I think I will go to the beach.”
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Charlie Morrison @allstarcharlie
my environmentalist grandparents shaking their heads disappointedly from heaven as they watch me go “yay global warming! i can’t wait for the climate to change some more! let’s nuke antarctica again while we’re at it!”
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From: [email protected]
To: [Group: Beetle Decryption Project]
Subject: Re: Introducing Our Linguist
Hello all,
It is an honor to be working with you on this project. My specialization in speculative linguistics has primarily served me in the realm of entertainment (you may be familiar with my conlang work from several popular TV shows) but I’ve always wished to somehow study a truly alien language. Now, here we are.
From a cursory look at the work Dr. Grace has already so graciously done for us, it’s clear the phonology of Eridian is complex and fascinating. The typical words we linguists use to describe phonology are not sufficient for an alien’s vocal tract—there are no vowels or consonants, no tongue, lips, or soft palate. It will be a linguistic project in itself to describe the Eridian language. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it!
Despite the many differences, it seems Dr. Grace was able to translate the alien’s speech into something comprehensible and grammatically similar to his native language of English. The accuracy of his translations and the true proximity of Eridian grammar to our own is perhaps beyond the scope of what our data can analyze, but however many questions will necessarily be left unanswered, the Beetle files will undoubtedly shake the field of linguistics to its core, and I can’t wait to see what we can find.
Michael Chiang, PhD
University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Linguistics
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The Hail Mary Made Contact With Sentient Alien Life At Tau Ceti
New documents from the Beetle Decryption Project reveal an exchange of language and information between Dr. Ryland Grace and a purportedly sapient creature from the 40 Eridani system.
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#general-chat
Harrison L: ALIEN LIFE?!?!
Harrison L: Also hi everyone, how’s it going? Life has been crazy busy lately but none of that matters because REAL LIFE ALIENS?!
inez: I had a 10 year old patient today who couldn’t stop gushing about the aliens, and I got to tell him I knew the guy who met them and he looked at me with the biggest, wateriest eyes. Sweetest thing in the world.
abbydabby: Do we know anything else about them? I’m dying to learn more.
Harrison L: Not yet, but I am refreshing r/beetlelogs every 5 seconds
Beau: Thank you for monitoring the situation, soldier
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Discussing Film @DiscussingFilm
The Beetle Decryption Project has released 200 pages of Dr. Ryland Grace’s notes on the ‘Eridian’ alien species he encountered.
They can be found at beetledecryptionproject.phm.un.org/eridian-notes
guy @justaguy
ok this really isn’t film
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#current-events
Harrison L: Oh my god.
Harrison L: They live at 29x the atmospheric pressure of Earth????
Harrison L: They have passive echolocation instead of sight????????
abbydabby: IT’S CRAZY!!!
Harrison L: This is unreal. There are aliens out there and I have to go to work tomorrow.
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Cara Hart, PhD @drbiogirl
The funny thing I think people are missing is that Dr. Grace was once a leader in the field of xenobiology who was sorta pushed out of regular academia bc of his insistence that life doesn’t require water.
Cara Hart, PhD @drbiogirl
And now he’s been instrumental in the discovery of extraterrestrial life on TWO (2) distinct planets, both water-based.
emily @lilacsage
i would've just lied about the second one at that point. who’s gonna fact-check
Cara Hart, PhD @drbiogirl
I was never sure how to feel about him as a scientist (I was in grad school at the tail end of the astrophage craze, so there was a lot of reevaluation of earlier xeno work) but I certainly respect him now for having that kind of integrity.
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Charite Program Still On Schedule For Early Spring Launch, Say NASA Representatives
The first probe, Aglaea, will be launched from Cape Canaveral in April. Using astrophage-powered spin drives, it will reach Venus in just over an hour from launch and release hundreds of packets of taumoeba into the atmosphere. These packets were designed by a joint NASA-CNSA research team, and are made of a material that dissolves upon contact with high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
The second probe, Thalia, will be launched by Roscosmos from the Bakinour Cosmodrome in early summer, and the third, Euphrosyne, by CNSA sometime next year. Unlike Aglaea, the latter two probes will also be outfitted with instruments to test the atmospheric conditions of Venus, levels of astrophage and taumoeba, and other valuable data to send back to Earth.
“If we had the time, we’d give our probe all the bells and whistles, too,” says Mindy Park, Administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at NASA. “But the goal for us is speed. We want taumoeba up there as soon as possible so they can start getting the astrophage population under control. And we’re very grateful to have international partners to check our work afterwards.”
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Harrison Laszlo
[5:31] Hey, is Ema still at NASA? My daughter learned about the Charite probes in school and has become obsessed with space travel. I’m wondering if she could hook me up with a tour or something
Inez García
[6:03] Last time I checked, yeah. We haven’t spoken in a long time, though.
Harrison Laszlo
[6:16] Oh, I’m sorry I brought it up!
Inez García
[6:20] It’s fine. It’s been 20 years, we’ve both moved on.
Harrison Laszlo
[6:22] Jeez. Has it really been that long?
Inez García
[6:30] Yeah, dude. The Beetles are back.
[6:31] Our first date was like… two weeks before we made the memorial server. Only a few days before the Hail Mary launch.
[6:33] Weird set of anniversaries for me, lol.
Harrison Laszlo
[6:37] Yeah, shit
[6:38] Well, I’m sure you have people in LA but if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here.
Inez García
[6:40] I appreciate that.
[6:41] I think that’s about the same thing I said to you right before we started the server, actually.
Harrison Laszlo
[6:43] LMAO I think you’re right
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Dr. Tim Daise @molecularism
Dr. Ryland Grace is piloting a brave new position to disrupt the dichotomy in academia of “publish or perish”. He’s chosen to publish AND perish.
That Physics Guy @kylejphysics
Considering we can’t be entirely sure that he’s not still alive, technically, I wonder how the Nobel committee is feeling re: the whole “no posthumous awards” thing right about now.
Dr. Tim Daise @molecularism
That rule really is a shame right now, as it has been many times before. The whole Hail Mary crew deserves a Nobel. Which category? All of them, honestly!
That Physics Guy @kylejphysics
If I won a Nobel this year I don’t think I’d be able to shake the feeling that I got it unfairly.
That Physics Guy @kylejphysics
I mean, I’d still take it. It’s a goddamn Nobel Prize! I’d never shut up about winning one of those! Eat your heart out, Grace! Sorry, what were we talking about?
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an ode to yao and ilyukhina
my oldest son was never born
the doctors don’t know why, but the tragedy isn’t theirs
i never used to think it was mine
i never met an astronaut and i never gave him a name
so i feel like i know you, too
frozen in time, a tragedy belonging to no one
if you can’t have the rest of your life,
i hope you don’t mind
when i look up to you in the dark night sky
i see a child in your arms
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Maybe: Harrison
[8:00] Hey Ema, it’s Harrison, from Bryan High! I got your number from Inez, I hope you don’t mind
[8:01] The Mr. Grace Memorial Server has been active lately because of all the Beetle news and we’ve missed you! Hope you’re doing well!
Ema
[8:10] hey wow! long time no see!
[8:11] i haven’t been online much lately, also bc of all the beetle news, lol
[8:12] definitely fielding the weirdest questions of my whole law career. which is saying something
Harrison (high school)
[8:16] So you’re still with NASA?
Ema
[8:21] sorta
[8:22] i left my old job with them like 6 years ago to take a more flexible position and do more pro bono work for climate protesters, but then that firm majorly fell apart so i’m back to contracting with nasa
[8:22] it’s less fun than it sounds, i promise
Harrison (high school)
[8:25] Well, it sounds like you’ve got your hands full. I was gonna ask if it was possible to set up a tour for my space-obsessed daughter, but I totally understand if not
Ema
[8:26] hmm. maybe this summer when things calm down. i can try, at least
[8:27] i’d love to meet her! how old is she?
[8:27] mine just turned 14 (my wife and i adopted her when she was 3)
Harrison (high school)
[8:28] Oh, wow! That’s awesome!
[8:28] Mine is 7
Ema
[8:31] aww cute. space-obsessed 7 year old. takes after her dad
Harrison (high school)
[8:32] Yeah, let’s just hope that her wanting to go to Tau Ceti is just a phase
Ema
[8:33] lol
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ian cohen @iantheman
if the taumoeba really do save the world, it will finally make the beatles bigger than jesus
salleigh :) @salleighprice
*beetles
ian cohen @iantheman
open the schools
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Harrison Laszlo
[8:35] Did you know that Ema has a wife and adopted daughter???
Inez García
[8:37] No, how could I?
[8:37] That would require, hypothetically, using a high school friend’s instagram login to see her private account to stalk her every couple months.
[8:38] Which I would never do.
Harrison Laszlo
[8:38] …Wow.
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Pseudopod-Mediated “Controlled Detonation” of Astrophage In Taumoeba Phagocytosis
Rae Abney, Mirabel Domingo Sanchez, Emerson Gould, Apollonia Mitchell-Cruz, Hiroshi Tatsuo
Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Chemistry, Berkeley University
While it is well established by now that the taumoeba consumes astrophage through amoeba-like phagocytosis, little is known of how the destruction and digestion process occurs. By placing small amounts of taumoeba and astrophage in a differential scanning calorimeter and comparing the resultant curve to the phagocytosis process, our study posits that the taumoeba’s pseudopods are able to induce an astrophage’s own detonation and shield its surroundings from the blast. They are then able to digest the remains of the cell in their cytoplasm using enzymes comparable to those found in terrestrial phagocytes.
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#general-chat
Liam “78” Offerson: Hey guys, I’m a girl now
Meg Offerson: Oh and let’s change that super cringe display name. Hi!
Meg Offerson: I’m a programmer with the Beetle Decryption Project so I’m sort of sworn to secrecy with all that stuff but it’s cool to see you all again!!!
speedoflight: omg you’re with the bdp?!?!??!
Meg Offerson: Yep! And a girl!
speedoflight: well yeah that’s less surprising tho
Meg Offerson: …
Meg Offerson: Okay fair enough
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astrophage can melt steel beams @P0573R
if i was on erid i could handle the atmosphere and stuff. i’m built different.
ian @iantheman
there’s no oxygen. you wouldn’t be able to breathe
astrophage can melt steel beams @P0573R
i’d figure it out
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#general-chat
Beau: Okay, be honest. Anybody else think Mr. Grace and that alien ever… y’know????
speedoflight: oh for sure
Beau: @Meg Offerson any inside info to share on this topic?
Meg Offerson: 1 Image
Beau: NDAs don’t count among friends
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The Linguistic Excitement Podcast! @lingcitepod
I think linguists are having more discussions warning each other about extrapolating too much from such a small sample than they are actually discussing the sample. Which is very linguist of us, I think.
anna @annabethjohns
i keep wondering what aliens would think of earth if their only reference was Me
The Linguistic Excitement Podcast! @lingcitepod
That’s a pretty good icebreaker! What would aliens think of Earth if they met you in the middle of space? I think for us, they would think humans have an extreme need for precision of language because we would ask a million follow-up questions to understand their language! LOL
anna @annabethjohns
well idk what they would think of it but i would definitely end up teaching them about memes
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#general-chat
Beau: But seriously, the stuff about watching each other sleep? I’m just saying. There’s something there.
inez: There must be another venue for you to unpack your psychosexual fantasies about your dead middle school teacher that isn’t a server full of people you’ve barely spoken to in thirty years.
Beau: I AM NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY!
Beau: Why is it so ridiculous to imagine that a very lonely man might have consensual sex with an alien rock? Homophobia, I dare say
inez: Beau, I’m gay.
Beau: And yet so close-minded…
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Ema
[6:04] how do tickets to the aglaea launch sound?
Harrison (high school)
[6:07] Oh my god. Are you serious?
Ema
[6:09] that would be a really mean prank
[6:10] i had them save two tix for me to take nora but we just can’t make it down to florida rn
[6:10] nora’s my daughter
Harrison (high school)
[6:11] I would love them! And be eternally grateful! What do I owe you?
Ema
[6:12] nothing, it’s a perk of the gig
[6:13] tho i am curious. how’s inez these days?
Harrison (high school)
[6:15] Good, I think. She’s a pediatrician in LA.
Ema
[6:16] ok well i did know that
[6:16] i stalk her instagram sometimes
Harrison (high school)
[6:18] Of course you do.
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Discussing Film @DiscussingFilm
‘Sending Up A Prayer: The Story Of Project Hail Mary’ To Be Adapted Into Major Feature Film, Still Looking For Director And Star(s)
Source: @Deadline
truthspeaker @truthspeaker
lol, nobody wants to watch that
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First Charite Probe ‘Aglaea’ To Launch From Cape Canaveral In Just 2 Weeks
“However the launch goes, we will be learning and improving for the next ones. We won’t stop until we get taumoeba to Venus,” says NASA spokesman.
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From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Almost There
Hey,
First of all, you are cordially invited to the Aglaea launch. This is your baby as much as it is ours. I still have a couple Cape Canaveral hotel rooms on hold but they’re very in-demand among our younger staff, so please let me know soon.
Second, we’re almost there! Any sage advice or words of encouragement?
Thanks,
Mindy Park
Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. NASA
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Naomi @govgirlie
Since Dr. Grace named his alien friend “Rocky” and the planet they studied “Adrian”, I think NASA should’ve named this mission “Apollo” in honor of the third main character of Rocky (1976)
mikayla davis @mikadavis
yeah, i don’t think they’ve used that one before
Jeff Stormer @PartyOfOnePod
Look, it just makes sense. Nobody’s better at killing invasive species than Philadelphians.
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From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Re: Almost There
Ms. Park,
I will be watching the launch on my television, but I appreciate the invitation.
I’m afraid I don’t have the magic words that will make everything work; we both are nothing more than individuals meddling with forces much larger than ourselves. At some point we must realize there are no more choices to be made. I am not a religious woman, but I will be praying for Aglaea’s success, for whatever that’s worth.
Best,
Eva Stratt
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#general-chat
Harrison L: Just landed in Cape Canaveral! Lisa is stoked!
Harrison L: 1 Image
abbydabby: Ugh I’m so jealous
Harrison L: We spent the whole flight reading her new book all about astrophage-powered space flight
Harrison L: Very cool stuff, very dangerous stuff
Harrison L: I am trying to assure her that explosions very rarely happen anymore
Meg Offerson: There was the Theseus I disaster last year
Harrison L: Shhhhh don’t scare my daughter. She loves space so much!
abbydabby: The Theseus II went better, but was that even the same ship?
Meg Offerson: Good one.
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Dr. Chris Beck @chrisbeck
It’s been a long winter, but my friends at @NASA are proving that humanity is not easily conquered! #AglaeaLaunch
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Lillian Wu @lilyonthescene
Just spoke with a man who said he was Dr. Ryland Grace’s middle school student three decades ago. He’s here with his young daughter to watch the launch. #AglaeaLaunch
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TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH FROM AGLAEA LAUNCH
My fellow Americans and citizens of the world, today is a momentous day—a day decades in the making. Thanks to the brave men and women of the Petrova Task Force nearly thirty years ago, and especially the crew of the Hail Mary, we have found a way to bring back the sun.
The astrophage has been a strange presence in our solar system. Maybe that’s putting it mildly. They are killing our sun, but they have also given us a new form of energy that has allowed us to create technology beyond our wildest dreams. Despite how we may see it on Earth, the astrophage is not a blessing or curse, but a living organism with a home solar system in equilibrium. That is the gift Dr. Grace of the Hail Mary sent back to us: the chance to bring our own system into equilibrium.
Aglaea in Greek mythology is the goddess of splendor, brilliance, and brightness, a fitting namesake for the probe that will begin our efforts to bring back our sun. I spoke to many scientists and engineers in the program who are too young to remember a world before the sun began to dim. Now, I hope they will see our world brighten again—a testament to their hard work and the work of so many others across the globe.
The Charite Program has been an international effort since the beginning; our partners at Roscosmos, CNSA, ESA, and JAXA have been invaluable, and will be picking up the work where we leave off today. We here at NASA know it will take the whole world to save the world, and we will do it—to paraphrase a man very influential to this organization—not because it is easy, but because it is hard. And if I may add an addendum for the current moment, because we must.
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[IMAGE: In the crowded mass of cheering attendees at the Aglaea launch site, a young girl sits on her father’s shoulders and cranes her neck to watch the probe’s upward arc, wearing an expression of elation and awe.]
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Comments
ema.esq awwwwww
lilacsage no rush or anything but what’s the timeline for actually knowing if it worked. asking for a friend
timmyb SPACE TRAVEL IS SO BEAUTIFUL I’LL CRY
es.phm God-willing, they will see the sun.