Ohio Shut Out of Astronaut Team for Moon Missions

Dec. 27—Ohio produced such famous astronauts as John Glenn and Neil Armstrong during the Cold War, when America was in a highly competitive space and technology race against the former Soviet Union.

Now, though, the Buckeye State is getting snubbed by NASA for the upcoming Artemis team which is scheduled to resume moon missions in 2024.

California led the way with five of the 18 Artemis astronauts hailing from the Golden State.

Not one is from Ohio.

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You can find the complete Artemis team, along with profiles of each of the 18 chosen astronauts at nasa.gov.

The Artemis program is today's version of the Apollo program. The latter began in the 1960s after the Mercury and Gemini programs. It ended with America's last trip to the moon in 1972.

In Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo.

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NASA chose Artemis as the name for its new era of missions to recognize how women have become more involved with science and technology over the past half-century.

It has committed to having one of Artemis' nine female astronauts become the first woman to step foot on the lunar surface.

Thus, Ohio will not get the distinction of producing both the first man and the first woman to walk on the moon.

Perhaps it's silly focusing on any one state when we're all one country and, in theory, working together for the good of all.

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Yet it's a bit odd watching the new Ohio Department of Health's coronavirus ad campaign on television without wondering why we got shut out of the Artemis missions.

The ad underscores Ohio ingenuity, starting with footage of the Wright Brothers and Mr. Armstrong.

Ohio has a lot to be proud of, indeed.

And, no, we weren't guaranteed an Ohio-born astronaut on the Artemis team.

Yet it would have been nice.

The closest we came was Christina H. Koch of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013.

She's not that local, either: According to her NASA bio, she's a native of Grand Rapids but grew up in Jacksonville, N.C., and lived in Livingston, Mont., before relocating to Houston once she became an astronaut.

In addition to producing some of America's most noteworthy astronauts, Ohio has put more astronauts into outer space than any other state, some 25 of them.

Those from northwest Ohio include Mr. Armstrong, of Wapakoneta, and Terence T. "Tom" Henricks, of Woodville.

Coincidentally, Congress is now trying to to rename NASA's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky after Mr. Armstrong.

Mr. Armstrong, who died on Aug. 25, 2012, generally shunned such publicity. Known for his modest personality, he said years ago he didn't seek out the limelight because he considered his feat a team effort.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) introduced legislation to rename Plum Brook after Mr. Armstrong in 2019. That effort began as NASA approached the 50th anniversary of its historic 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

"Neil was a humble and patriotic Ohioan who believed the honor of serving his country was a reward in and of itself," Mr. Portman, who delivered the eulogy at Mr. Armstrong's funeral, said. "That's why, when I asked him the year before he passed away whether he wanted me to pursue naming Plum Brook after him, he demurred.

"But he was a strong supporter of Plum Brook Station and the important simulations and testing being done there, and I believe it is precisely because of his humility, coupled with his unparalleled accomplishments, that the renaming is appropriate," Mr. Portman said, adding that he got the Armstrong family's blessing.

The U.S. Senate agreed to the name change last year, and the U.S. House of Representatives did the same on Dec. 16. The legislation is awaiting President Trump's signature.

Last year, also in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission, another Ohioan with a distinguished career in NASA was honored.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and Toledo City Council named our local airport the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport in recognition of Mr. Kranz, who grew up in Toledo.

He became a NASA legend for what he did here on Earth as the Apollo-era flight director who ran the control room in Houston for several of the space agency's most famous missions.

See this profile I wrote about Mr. Kranz to learn more about him, and this column about the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing to learn more about the mood of the country then.

NASA's plan is to go back to the moon with multiple Artemis missions. It wants to learn more about the millions of tons of water discovered at the moon's south pole after the Apollo missions ended.

It also wants — cue up Pink Floyd — to explore the mysterious "dark side" of the moon in person for the first time.

Then, NASA will set its sights on Mars and beyond, starting in the mid-2030s.

About all that's left to say here is this: I've heard several times from a well-connected source in the Republican Party that former Ohio Gov. and frequent CNN contributor John Kasich is a big Pink Floyd fan, known to have driven long distances listening to that group's best-known album, Dark Side of the Moon.

But that's another story.

Over a career that has spanned nearly four decades, Tom Henry has written wacky, weird, funny, sad, heartbreaking, soulful, serious, and even some inspirational stories. He created The Blade's environment-energy beat in 1993 and, on occasion, riffs about jazz and blues. He also likes big, sloppy dogs.

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