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Photo taken aboard Apollo 17 on December 7, 1972
the same day Cindy was born
Cape Kennedy. This would be the final manned mission
in the American Apollo space program, the last manned
mission to land on the moon and the last time a human
was beyond low earth orbit. This photo which shows a
fully illuminated earth was taken 5 hours and 6 minutes
after launch. No human since has been to such a
distance that would allow a whole-Earth photograph
such as what has been dubbed “The Blue Marble.”
It was also on this Thursday that my little baby sister,
Cindy Ann Deuel, was born at a hospital in Warwick,
New York. This is exactly how the earth looked the
very day Cindy came into the world. On this tenth
anniversary, I want to remember her birth, not her
death. Under the Apollo space program, the entire
world watched as we successfully landed a man on the
moon in 1969. For a brief moment in time, we were
united as one people, as all of our differences faded
away as we accomplished this unimaginable feat.
The Blue Marble expressly shows the vulnerability of
the human race. In an instant, this beautiful place we
call home, could meet the fate of the dinosaurs. We will
either end up self destructing or an earthbound object is
going to do the job. Sadly it seems the message in this
photo has been lost over time. The moon missions and
now the shuttle missions have come to end. The
incessant wars and government sponsored terrorism has
not.
Cindy’s favorite magazine was Astronomy. When
asked what her ideal job would be, she answered the
following, “No job, but to sit around all day and play
with math, history and science...” Cindy dreamed big.
She was fascinated by interstellar travel, as represented
in the movie Contact. She could dish out a wicked
argument supporting the idea that one day we will travel
faster than the speed of light. In 2003 I honored Cindy
by having her name sent to Mars on the Mars
Exploration Rovers. DVDs bearing her name are now
on Mars at Gusev Crater (Spirit) and at Meridiani
Planum (Opportunity).
Today Cindy would’ve been 38. On December 7th,
1972 a fragile and vulnerable baby girl was born onto a
fragile and vulnerable little blue marble. It has been 38
years since we’ve been to the moon. In that time the
earth has cried out in pain, as we’ve blasted our bombs,
polluted its water, and murdered its people. We need a
military free zone: PLANET EARTH.
I’ve decided to go out tomorrow and buy blue marbles
in Cindy’s name. I am going to share Cindy’s story with
someone who doesn’t know. I am going to give them a
blue marble and ask them to think of all the possible
futures that existed the day that Cindy was born. 9/11
wasn’t destined to happen. We let it. Let’s not let it
happen again. Get to know your neighbor. Don’t be
afraid. Take care of your marble and the one beneath
your feet. Make friends and share your marbles with
the world and soon we will be traveling freely in space.
Dream that one day we will travel to and peacefully
coexist with all the other marbles in the night sky. If
Cindy had lived, she would have seen to it. Now we
can follow her trail of star dust from birth, to infinity and
beyond.
Richard Anthony Deuel
September 11, 2011
