Our innate duty?

Last week, I had the fortunate privilege of meeting a good number of 150 of human spaceflight & NASA’s biggest supporters and advocates. Nope, they weren’t NASA employees; most weren’t even affiliated with the space industry in any way. They came from all walks of life, from across the United States, and even some from across the pond, to marvel at one of mankind’s greatest technological creations, as it soared into the skies, out of our atmosphere, and into the void we call space.

These folks dropped everything they were doing for 2+ days, to fly, drive, walk, run (OK, maybe I exaggerated on the latter two), to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), where they were given the chance of a lifetime to interact with NASA professionals and see the sites where the US human spaceflight program roared to life. Their stay culminated in the witnessing of a now almost historical event: a space shuttle launch.

Now, in hindsight, I admit that walking into the STS-132 Tweetup tent for the first time overwhelmed me a bit…after all, I’d just walked into an area with 150+ almost new faces, something I probably hadn’t done since college. Over the next day and a half, I had a chance to interact with many of the participants, as we shared an experience I’m sure many of us will never forget. I think what struck me most throughout that time, and even today, is how passionate and excited they all were to not only get to see all of these awe-inspiring sites (undoubtedly ones many of us grew up reading about), but how generally interested they were in spaceflight.

Living and working in the bowels of our nation’s human spaceflight program affords us many opportunities and benefits. It is, however, incredibly easy (moreso than I ever could’ve imagined) to become jaded and unknowingly unappreciative of the incredible nature of it all. We, as NASA employees, have the perfect vantage point and opportunity to share both our own and our agency’s passion, drive, and accomplishments towards human spaceflight; and I’d be willing to argue that in some respect, it is our duty to act as ambassadors, facilitating conversations and interacting with those around us, to communicate (within reason, of course) our own personal raison d’etre for contributing to the human spaceflight program.

In the days since the tweetup, I’ve chatted with several of the participants I met in Florida. The most amazing thing to note about all of these interactions? They are still SO excited about what they got to be a part of last week. Their fervent passion has “recharged” me in a way, reminding me that what I am fortunate enough to do on a day-to-day basis is actually pretty amazing – and for that, I’m incredibly, incredibly grateful to all of them.

Now the question: just as NASA’s employees have an opportunity to be ambassadors for NASA, do the participants of all of NASA’s incredibly successful “Tweetups” have a similar chance and responsibility now? If so, what is the best way to leverage their (your) current excitement, and reach out to their (your) friends, families, and communities to engage them while sharing their (your) passion for space exploration?

This is our challenge, regardless of the level of affiliation we have with the US human spaceflight program. As space enthusiasts, we have a collective responsibility to share the amazing accomplishments and communicate the excitement we all felt when we first saw a shuttle launch, or walked into Mission Control, or talked to an astronaut.

And so, my challenge to not only the NASA employees reading this, but also the #NASATweetup participants, is how do we share our excitement and wonder with those around us? What’s the best way to share our experiences and have others share in our passion? How can we all partner together to connect with those around us?