TCNJ

31 FALL 2021 become imperative for humanity and not a luxury. I think all that's being done now is part of a vision for a future that may extend beyond Earth." The return of spaceflight could also expand research opportunities for astronomers like Lauranne Lanz, a professor of physics who studies the formation of galaxies. Once a presence on the moon is established, the scien- tific possibilities multiply, she says. "How can we use that base as a jumping point to then go to Mars?" she says. "How can we use that to benefit astronomical research? How can we use that to develop technolo- gies that will be useful back on Earth?" NASA's recent decision to fund research for the potential construc- tion of a radio telescope on the far side is one example. The telescope's position on the moon would allow astronomers to study long-wavelength radio emissions from the cosmic dark ages — the era between the Big Bang and the formation of the first stars — that are blocked by noise pollution. "Humans, as a species, are very noisy: We like our cellphones, we like our televisions, we like our computers, and all of those things emit a lot of noise at radio frequencies," Lanz says. "If we had a telescope on the far side of moon, we could conduct some of the science that has slipped out of our reach just because of the noise humans make." But that is a wish for the farther off future; what Lanz is most excited for at this moment is the upcoming " When we launch astronauts to the moon again, and there's true, live HD video of these folks approaching the moon, it's going to be amazing. People will see themselves differently . " launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. For astronomers, engineers, and anyone remotely curious about the universe, the telescope's launch, scheduled for November, heralds a once-in-a- generation event. The largest and most powerful telescope ever built, it features a protective sunshield the size of a tennis court and an ingeniously designed mirror, comprising 18 hexagonal segments, that will unfold once it reaches space. Using infrared light, the telescope will allow astronomers to look back 13.8 billion years and see the earliest galaxies born after the Big Bang. Lanz has been waiting for this launch since she first read about the telescope's development. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed — I don't want to jinx it — but it'll be as big of an advance as Hubble was for understanding the history of the universe," she says. The recent surge of public support for these missions is gratifying for Shinn, who, like Gilligan, was asked more than once if NASA was "going out of business." Shinn always knew the agency's mission was intact. He'd gotten goosebumps when the Mars Maven spacecraft launched in 2013 on a mission to study the upper atmosphere of the red planet, and for years he'd seen the agency's Earth- science programs benefiting citizens in real time, monitoring ocean temperatures to track rising seas, and using satellite imagery of forests to help fight wildfires. But the expansive missions currently underway are infectious for everyone. In 2020, Shinn savored the moment as he watched a SpaceX capsule carrying astronauts to the Interna- tional Space Station lift off from Kennedy — the first launch of Amer- ican astronauts, on American rockets, from American soil since 2011. "Everybody on the beach stood up cheering," he says. "I felt so proud to be watching all these people get so excited for this launch. I had one of those moments, thinking, 'We're back. We're doing something the U.S. has always been meant to do.'" ■ Liz Leyden is a writer in New Jersey and frequent contributor to TCNJ Magazine.

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