Teacher * Researcher * Sociologist
UPDATED September 1, 2026. I began my Moonshot Astronaut Families project almost four years ago, slowly doing research while working full time in my teaching position. While the active research has happened sporadically, the time in between has allowed more space to think and reflect. During this time, I’ve discovered emerging, common themes in the […]
It’s been a surreal couple of weeks with the Artemis II mission, after so many years since the Apollo days. It brought back memories like they were yesterday, yet so much has changed. To hear more about my reflections on the two different space eras, especially about astronaut families, have a listen to my interview […]
Here’s the Whole Astronaut Team. 30 Men – One Will Be First on Moon. With their sights on the moon, 14 new astronauts will report for work here Monday. They were officially introduced last October and bring to 30 Houston’s growing family of astronauts. The nation’s finest, they were selected under the goal to land […]
I recently watched an absorbing documentary about the historian Robert Caro and his long-time book editor Robert Gottlieb. The title of the film is “Turn Every Page” – from a quote that Caro often cites when talking about his research. When he was a young reporter, his editor Alan Hathaway, told him: “Just remember, turn […]
Celebrating my mom today. She would have been 85 years old. She died in 2016, before I had the idea for my current research project (Moonshot Astronaut Families). I spent many hours going through her papers after she died, and I discovered new, and sometimes surprising, insights into her life during the early astronaut days. […]
24 humans journeyed to the moon from 1968 to 1972. No humans have been to the moon since. What was it like to fly in space in the 1960s and 70s? What was onboard technology like for the original Moon Shot Astronauts? Technology onboard Apollo Watch my “show-and-tell” about the Apollo onboard technology experience in […]
“They were just our dads.“ – Diane Gordon Briggs (daughter of Richard F. Gordon: Gemini 11, Apollo 12). 2021. (Podcast for Emory Rose MARBL.) Diane Gordon (Briggs) lived across the street from me in Nassau Bay, where we grew up together as daughters of astronauts who flew on Gemini and Apollo missions. Our fathers were […]
“The summer of 1971 I went to camp and my dad went to the moon.” – Tracy L. Scott. 1974. (Autobiography for 8th Grade English.) When I was 10 years old, my father (David R. Scott) flew to the moon on Apollo 15, and, to me, it was as “normal” as going to camp. Flying in space […]
What was the Moon Shot era really like? Over the last 50 years, many accounts have been written about the Moon Shot era, from many different angles. Yet, the reality of that extraordinary accomplishment was complex, and primary sources from the time still hold a wealth of stories that have yet to be told. At […]
“What was it like to walk on the moon?” My father* has heard that question thousands of times. I’ve heard it dozens of times, as his daughter. There is no quick, easy answer. The reality was rich and deep and complex, for each of the individuals who went to the moon. Moreover, the question overlooks […]