It always surprises me when NASA is about to do something major, and their collective goofiness as people and nerds smacks me right in the face. The Artemis launch is one such example, though there have been many. The Mission Control mohawk guy is probably still one of my favorites.
I have no doubt the Artemis mission will be a success, and with it humanity’s ambitious plan to set up the first major part of our path to Mars. It’s a wildly exciting time for space nerds like me and I’m vibrating in my chair with anticipation.
A lot of super cool details are coming out about this mission. Their use of manikins that mimic a woman’s “softer” internal organs to check for radiation, the new style of spacesuit, the Orion capsule and its next gen badass nature compared to the venerable and original Apollo ship. I love everything about this mission! They’ve even added Snoopy and Shaun the Sheep to this mad moon dash.
Makes me wonder though. Okay, well, it makes me wonder two things. The first being: Are nerds like this all over the Universe, or is this special to human nerds? The second, of course, being: What are alien nerds like?
I’m going to assume, just based on human nerds, that some of those traits are common throughout the overall nerd culture. Human nerds can absolutely meet others from other societies and enjoy the same things despite any barriers like native cultures and language.
Something to think about, a fun running thread through a story between characters so wildly different from each other. Another way any other life we meet out in the Great Black might be more similar to us than we think, in either real life or fiction. Nerds of the Universe, unite!
T.A. Creech
Science in the pursuit of fiction.