Marie-Claude Williamson

Earth.

Our microgravity indicator consists of four satellites orbiting a crocheted Earth, all hand-made elements by Jack’s daughter and my childhood best friend. Each crew member selected a personal symbol or “satellite.” A tether links each satellite to the Earth, representing our connection to our families, friends, and our one shared home. We’ll see this indicator drop as we re-enter Earth’s gravity tomorrow.   I chose a panda holding a mushroom, two adorable symbols of environmental importance and cultural fascination. Pandas are modern icons of species preservation and international diplomacy, and a pivotal character in my childhood. Mushrooms, or fungi, are the great decomposers, with all life on earth depending on them to keep our soils healthy and food webs functioning.   Jack chose a moon that his daughter hand-crocheted. Each color woven into the design represents a member of their family or a cherished shared activity. By bringing this piece with him, he keeps their bond close, allowing Jack to re-live happy memories while looking forward to the ones they’ll create when he returns.   Sophie chose a banana. Bananas are the world’s most common fruit, ordinary fruit shared by billions of people across every continent. Yet on orbit fresh fruit is rare. She wanted with us a playful reminder of kitchens and home—a familiar piece of Earth drifting weightless with us.   Andrey chose this thing, because it reminds me of an old space soviet movie. He would invite everyone to try to guess what this is. And we present to you, Planet Gaia and her moons, floating here in Crew-12’s Dragon!