I’ve always been fascinated by the moon, and this week’s Artemis II mission had me thinking about it a whole lot more.

Welcome to the 158^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. Along with thoughts on the moon, this week’s edition looks at generating heat from nuclear power plants, the world’s longest outdoor escalator, and the Los Angeles Fire Department’s electric motorcycle fleet.

On my mind this week: The moon feels a little closer this week

Like many people, I’ve been fascinated this week by the Artemis II mission and the spectacular images of the moon transmitted back to Earth.

While some might dismiss space exploration as frivolous or a waste of money, I believe pushing the boundaries plays an important role in helping us understand ourselves and our place in the universe. The Artemis II mission offered some lessons for all of us.

First, I loved seeing the collaboration and camaraderie demonstrated by the diverse Artemis II crew. This mission sent a powerful message that we can achieve amazing things by respecting and collaborating with each other. The love and respect they had for each other was evident in every interaction, but none more powerful than the group hug they shared after respectfully requesting that a moon crater be named after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife Carroll.

I’m especially proud that Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen was on the Artemis II crew. Every time I hear Hansen speak, I am so impressed by his humility, intelligence and thoughtfulness. Jeremy inspired a lot of Canadian pride this week, and many children across the country are dreaming of being the next Jeremy Hansen. Unlike many of the celebrities young people idolize, Hansen is a worthy hero!

The moon just got a little closer for all of us

I’ve always loved looking at the moon on a dark night. This week’s mission brought back fond memories of my daughter Laura as a child.

When Laura was about two years old, she went through a phase where she wanted to touch everything she saw. She would often reach up her arms and say “Wanna touch it” when she wanted a closer look at something.

One evening, Laura was standing at our patio door looking up at the moon. After excitedly exclaiming, “The moon!” she turned around, held out her arms to me and said “Wanna touch it!” I explained to her that the moon was too far away for her to touch. She stood at the window and sobbed, wailing “It’s too far away!”

Laura’s fascination with the moon has not waned. Almost 25 years later, she has been excitedly following this week’s Artemis II mission. On her stream the other night, she said “What a time to be alive!” as she shared some of the spectacular photos from the mission.

Thanks to NASA and the Artemis II crew for inspiring us and bringing the moon a whole lot closer for all of us this week. It almost felt like we could touch it!

---

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

---

Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• It was wonderful having Laura and Colleen home for Easter. We hosted a big family Easter dinner on Saturday before the girls flew back to the opposite ends of the country on Sunday.   
• On Monday, I made homemade pea and ham soup with the ham bone from our Easter dinner. It was yummy.
• On Thursday, I met up with a former co-worker for tea. We had a terrific catch up.

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

Generating heat from nuclear power plants

In northern China, heat piped from a nuclear power plant kept about 400,000 people in homes in three cities in northern China warm and cozy this winter. As of the end of last year, heat from the nuclear power plant had displaced 1.3 million tonnes of coal and cut CO2 emissions by 2.3 million tonnes, resulting in winter air quality improvements in the three cities.

Here in Ontario, we get more than half of our electricity from nuclear power plants. Not taking advantage of that energy to heat our homes feels like a missed opportunity to me.

(Source: CBC What on Earth)

World’s longest outdoor escalator

Also in China, the longest outdoor escalator system in the world is now running in Wushan County. It’s nearly 3,000 feet long and carries pedestrians up 800 feet in elevation. That’s about the height of an 80-story skyscraper.

The escalator system, known as “The Goddess” comprises 21 individual escalators, 8 elevators, 4 moving walkways and several pedestrian bridges. Riding all of them takes roughly 21 minutes.

This transit innovation is proving to be popular, with about 9,000 riders a day.

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine)

Los Angeles Fire Department adds electric motorcycles to its fleet

The Los Angeles Fire Department is rolling out 30 new electric motorcycles designed to serve as fast, highly mobile medical response units.

The motorcycles will get emergency crews on scene quicker so they can begin basic medical support, and coordinate further response efforts, including ambulance transport if needed.

(Source: Electrek)

Quote of the week

I could have filled this post with inspirational quotes from the Artemis II astronauts, but I think this one says it best.

We can do better as a human race by lifting each other up and collaborating.

Jeremy Hansen, Canadian astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist

---

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.