 | Marisa Honomichl is Vice President of Marketing and Development at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. The Cosmosphere houses one of the largest collections of space artifacts in the world including the Apollo 13 space capsule. The mission of the Cosmosphere is “Honoring the Past and Inspiring the Future of Space Exploration.” This is accomplished through educational programming such as space exploration camps for students in the summer. Feel free to contact the Cosmosphere for more information on their camps and programming at (800)397-0330 or visit www.cosmo.org. |
Science
2010-05-01 14:25:00
Inspiring the future
Answer: Our mission statement at the Kansas Cosmsophere is ‘Honoring the past and inspiring the Future of Space Exploration. The first part of that mission translates into clear objectives and action items for the staff that tell the story of the history of space exploration. The second part though, Inspiring the Future, now that gets a bit tricky. Inspiration is not an easy thing to wrap your arms around and deliver to an audience of all ages with varying interests.
Last month, I had the privilege of meeting someone who had what I can only call a "presence" about him that was engaging, and most notably…inspiring. The Cosmosphere was celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission and our guest speakers included some amazing men who served as Mission Controllers during that famed flight as well as Astronauts James Lovell and Fred Haise. Any one of them could easily be called inspiring. This particular speaker, however, was Guenter Wendt, and he served as pad leader for the launch of all of the Apollo missions as well as the Mercury and Gemini missions before them. His job was to ensure the safe launch of the men in those capsules and he took that job very seriously.
His accomplishments throughout the NASA programs could alone be considered inspiring but what was truly unique about him was his ability to inspire. You could not have a conversation with Guenter and walk away without your mind racing at all the possibilities this world had yet to discover. He asked questions everywhere we went, he was a voracious learner, but then he would always challenge his audience…"what if you tried this…could you make it do that?" It was that combination of listening, thinking, then posing a challenge to those he was talking to that made him a beacon of inspiration. Guenter commonly would speak to groups of engineering students, his latest challenge to them he shared was to develop cold fusion to the point it could create a clean energy source beyond anything we have today, then to develop a way to transmit that energy without wires. "It can be done," he said with such complete confidence that even the pessimist in me left wondering how long it would be before his challenge had been met.
I watched Guenter with my teenage son, who I will testify is not easily inspired to do anything, and within three minutes of meeting one another Guenter was explaining to him the concept of a light year and to my astonishment, my son was listening. In fact I can only describe their interaction as transfixed. I saw Guenter have these moments with people of all ages all throughout his visit. It was simply amazing; his hunger for knowledge was absolutely contagious.
A few weeks after the Apollo 13 anniversary, Guenter passed away at his home in Florida. He accomplished a great deal in his lifetime but those he inspired to take up the next challenges this world brings us will be one of his greatest legacies. His challenge to the rest of us was clear, what can we learn and whom can we inspire today?
