Marvyn Juliette Rickett is my mother, 1943 – 2022. She loved space and everything about the Apollo program. I was born at the end of the Mercury era and young when the Gemini and Apollo missions were happening. But my mother followed them from the beginning and shared everyone's excitement about President Kennedy's announcement of putting a man on the moon, to the final Apollo mission. The highlight for her was the first moon landing. We were a very religious family and went to church every Sunday. Except when the moon landing happened. We stayed home and I sat on the floor in front of the television watching this miracle with my mom. At that time, she gave me the gift of the love of space. I recall her talking about having a radio the size of a postage stamp that could send signals from the moon to the Earth. I was in awe of this, especially considering that a small radio at the time sat on a tabletop and took most of it up. Even transistor radios were the size of a small paperback book.

Growing up during the Space Age truly gave me the opportunity to dream of space and rocket ships. My mom and I shared many discussions of the space program and what was happening. First, of course, Apollo (I was too young to discuss Gemini), Skylab, the Space Shuttle Program, and finally the International Space Station. This was a topic that kept us close throughout her life. A few years ago, Momma was in a wheelchair and could not travel, but I went to the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville AL. For me it was the culmination of a lifetime of love of space. After that visit, I went to see Momma and shared pictures and stories of the visit. I know she would have loved to be there, but she was thrilled I was able to go and through my sharing she felt like she was there.

Momma loved space and passed that love to me. Being able to add her name to the National Air and Space Museum Wall of Honor is exactly what she would have wanted, and I am grateful I am able to do this for her. As we move into the next generation of space exploration, may her vision, and that of others like her, continue to move us to look at the stars and wonder what's next.