Shalaye: Life, Work, and Missed Opportunities
Space Obsessed!
This article is a departure from my usual fare of explaining space phenomena. This time, I wanted to share with you a bit about my week. I’ll be talking about my learning, work, life, science, and of course, space! (Exciting news ahead.)
LOL, I wan dey disguise before
As some of you know, I work in the automotive industry as a diagnostician and a “baby” tutor. Recently, I’ve found teaching automobile technology and co-hosting our radio show to be the only exciting parts of my job. I’ve also started taking an advanced automobile class, and I’ve really enjoyed the learning process so far. I’ve particularly enjoyed the transition from being a teacher to being a student and a co-host. I’m still keeping up (struggling, I mean) with my personal “skill-up” learnings, reading rocket textbooks, and of course, my guilty pleasure (space!).
A lot of learning, I must say
Apart from adding to the number of space and science baddies/science communicators I follow on Instagram, I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts, watched a lot of YouTube videos, and read a lot of articles this week. I must say, there have been some exciting events in the science realm this week, and I’d share some of them with you in the next articles.
This incredible trio: Anastatia Mayers, Jon Goodwin, and Keisha Schahaff accomplished a remarkable feat by embarking on a journey to the brink of space aboard Virgin Galactic’s inaugural spacecraft. They became the first tourists to venture into space, and their achievement is both groundbreaking and inspiring. This mission holds a special place in my heart, and I’ll explain why. But first, let me provide some background on the individuals and their mission.
Keisha Schahaff was the lucky winner of two seats on a Virgin Galactic commercial flight through Space for Humanity’s civilian astronaut raffle. She decided to share the experience with her 18-year-old daughter, Anastatia Mayers, making them the first mother-daughter duo to travel to space. Additionally, they became the first individuals from the Caribbean, specifically Antigua and Barbuda, to embark on this extraordinary journey.
Jon Goodwin, 80, is a remarkable individual who has overcome great challenges to lead a fulfilling life. He is the first Olympian and the second individual with Parkinson’s disease to venture into space. Goodwin has a long history of embracing risk and adventure, having represented Great Britain in canoeing at the 1972 Munich Olympics, as well as pursuing mountain climbing, skydiving, and car racing.
I'll give anything to be them tbh
Fun fact: I found the Space for Humanity contest in late 2021 and I started my application before Imposter Syndrome kicked in. The program was to take a civilian to Space and it did not matter where you are from, but then again “Mosun from Yaba???? why????”. My friend advised me to still go ahead and even if I wasn’t picked I will learn a lot from the process but by the time……*dramatic pause*……….I really should have gone through with it. I actually cried while following up on Keisha and her daughter.
You go explain explain, no evidence — Burna Boy, 2023
DJ, play me “if there is something wanna do, just do it by Cat Burns”
Keep an eye out for my upcoming articles! I plan to start providing a weekly round-up of space, science, and technology news. I hope this will help you stay up-to-date on the latest developments.
