From Bartlett to the moon and back
The Artemis II crew — Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right) and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) — uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse. (Courtesy NASA)
By the time they’re officially discarded by the four Artemis II astronauts who wore them in space this week, those four pairs of specialty eyeglasses made in Bartlett will have traveled 695,081 miles from Earth to the moon and back.
And that’s not even counting the distance it took to get the funky-looking eclipse glasses from the American Paper Optics facility in Bartlett to Kennedy Space Center near the famed Cape Canaveral, Florida.
It’s unlikely any other object touched by Memphis hands has ever traveled as far as those specialized glasses the astronauts used to view a total solar eclipse during their 10-day mission, which included a flyby of the moon.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
American Paper Optics Bartlett NASA Artemis II Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
Did you know we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization? We rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and other earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).
Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today.
👉🏽 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.
👉🏽 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.
We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.
Jody Callahan
Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories? If you’re a subscriber, scroll down to the comments. If you’re not a subscriber, only paid subscribers can add their thoughts, so subscribe now. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.