Historical “Firsts” in Space: Precedence and Chronology
My recent winnings from Lunar Legacies include a map of planned and actual impact sites for Apollo 15 and a large lot of collectibles from Sally Ride’s historic flight, STS-7. I joined NASA a few weeks beforehand, so this takes me back to the earliest days of my career. I’m highlighting space “firsts” on my site, and she was an important one, the first American woman in space.
Our memorabilia gallery serves multiple purposes. It provides historical context for our maps, in terms of chronology as well as precedence. It also provides a reference for people who don’t know much about space exploration, but want to get involved. The space pioneers I have highlighted are good candidates for names of additional planetary roads.
Another important “first” is credited to John Glenn, Mercury astronaut. He was the first American to fly an orbital mission around the Earth, following in the footsteps of Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. Glenn also has the distinction of receiving the Scottish Rite Masonic’s 33rd degree. A month after, at age 77, Glenn returned to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person to go into space, a record that still stands. During the nearly nine-day mission of STS-95, Glenn was the subject of several scientific experiments intended to observe the effect of space travel on someone of his advanced age. As a space pioneer and a Senator who sought to legislate toward a better world, John Glenn has inspired generations.
These days, most of the historical "firsts" in space are feats of engineering, for example, landing a probe on an asteroid or recording the first close-up images of Pluto. I feel fortunate to have captured a "first" that doesn't require sophisticated and expensive spacecraft. The first map of the First Roads in Space was done on a shoestring budget in retirement.
I am starting to think about the first map of the First Roads on Mars, and am torn between different approaches. One is to choose three roads that are easy to chart and don't require sophisticated traverse planning software. Another is to search for a mapping company that can handle any scenario on Mars. The terrain on Mars is more complex than on the Moon, and other considerations, such as weather, factor into decisions as to where to land for future human missions.
A different approach entirely is to continue charting roads on the Moon using the software we currently have available. I have named and located 24 roads on the Moon, and 8 roads on Mars.
One thing I like about my maps is that they are the first of their kind, period. I feel as if I were continually lumped in with diversity efforts at NASA, but I want to be seen as the first overall, beating out even - and especially - the men. Men have been inspirations, though, and I included the poster of the three rover traverses at Peary Crater by Skycorp, hence the name of my first lunar road, Wingo Epps Circle. Their work was published in 2012, about the time I started looking for the next big thing.
Although I enjoy the space auctions, my goal is to sell my company as one entity, incorporating my collection of space memorabilia. That would include my copyrights and digital assets, as well as the physical assets. Reloquence is still pre-revenue, and still investible. I own about 95% of it.
I talked to Stanford about my collection, and they suggested donating or selling to a museum. I think an entrepreneurial model is still best, because in a library or a museum the momentum towards creating additional maps would be lost. Paul Tice, CEO of FiOR Innovations, suggested a non-profit or academic model with grants and other monetary awards, but I am not aware of any existing funding sources that would make sense for Reloquence at this time. Open to suggestions.
Check back soon for updates to our online gallery of space memorabilia.
