What's all this about?

(hint: it's not science fiction)

So back in 2016, I got an idea.

If you know me and ideas, well, I get a lot of them.

This one was different.

What if (the idea went) we had a place that space missions could go without having to go back down the gravity well?

Let’s say a mission had sickness, or injury, or needed a repair. Rather than scrubbing the mission, they just go to this place - a permanent habitat - get things fixed up, then go on their merry way.

Sounds good. Crazy. At the time, I was unemployed. No connections, no money.

But the thought wouldn’t let go.

So in 2017, I started this Facebook group, not thinking anything would come of it.

In 2019, I made two posts, just to outline what I thought we’d need, and the challenges we might face. Didn’t get a whole lot of response, but at the time, that seemed enough. It was kind of fun.

In May 2020, I applied for the Edmund Hilary Fellowship. To be honest, I wasn’t ready by any stretch of the imagination, and I was turned down.

I have to admit that I felt discouraged. For three years, I didn’t do anything on this. Then I came back to the Facebook group in December 2023 to find over 1000 followers waiting for me to post.

So someone’s interested!

So why now?

I’m a very different person than I was in 2017, or even in 2023.

Most of what keeps people from doing something with their lives is not external factors (like someone “picking them”), but rather their mindset: that internal mess that tells them they’re not

• good enough
• smart enough
• educated enough
• connected enough
• financed enough.

I’m calling bullshit on all of it.

I personally might not be any of those things, but collectively, as a globe, we are.

Space is for everyone. It’s right above us. It’s free.

We have the technology to do this, right now.

We have billions of minds who can figure out the tricky parts. Brilliant, innovative minds, living in places where they might never be able to participate in some government space program or elite think tank.

Our governments would rather bomb each other than do anything useful, so I’m calling for anyone who wants to move forward on this to step forward.

Together, we can make this work.

Wait. You mean … me?

Yes. You.

You may not be a rocket scientist, but this isn’t just going to be some tin can in space. This will eventually be a

• repair shop
• hospital
• tourist attraction
• city

We’ll need people who know how to care for animals, how to make clothing, how to cook and clean and fix things. We’ll need construction workers and doctors and architects. If this works, we’ll have gravity and grow food, shop and have parties. We need all kinds of people.

It’s not a question of being “good enough.” It’s a question of “are you in?”

But aren’t there way more problems that need fixing on Earth?

Every space program that’s ever been done has reaped enormous technological advances on Earth, things that have helped all of us. Breakthroughs in medical treatments, water purification, and advanced robotics started as trying to solve issues in space.

Want to fix problems on Earth? Start fixing one.

I want to fix this one.

Okay. Who are you?

My formal training is in Family Medicine. I have a Bachelor’s in Microbiology and an MD. I practiced medicine for ten years before retiring due to disability.

I have particular interests in space (duh), landscaping with food plants, genetics, and organic gardening. I’m a fiber artist who came this close to double-majoring in voice.

(for you woo woos: Mercury-ruled chart)

I love power tools and making things. I write science fiction. My night job is as a prep cook at a buffet.

For most of my life, I haven’t quite got to where the intersection of these things might take me, until now.

The rest? Married since 1987, three grown kids, born in southern California, live in the Midwest. My husband and I are both on Social Security.

We’re not rich, or connected, or anything like that.

What I have is an idea, and a dream. You’re welcome to follow along.