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OREM — A Utah author's quest to see her work land on the moon may have gone astray, but she's hoping the mission may still find a poetic destination among the stars.
"We're bringing pieces of ourselves to the moon," said Rebecca Rode, a genre-bending author and proud Utahn who stylizes herself as primarily a science-fiction author. Rode, the bestselling author of the "Numbers Game" young-adult fiction series, is passionate about writing stories based on what she observes happening in the world around her.
Naturally, Rode was excited to receive the invitation in 2021 to join a group of 30,000 artisans from across the world whose creative works would be sent into space and housed permanently on the surface of the moon as part of a project called the Lunar Codex.
The Lunar Codex, a vast collection of creative works aboard Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lunar lander, is heading toward the moon with the mission of landing on its surface and establishing itself and its cargo permanently on the lunar landscape.
The Peregrine lunar mission received equipment from NASA. Astrobotic, a commercial venture, sold cargo space that wasn't taken up by essential equipment to anyone willing to pay prices exceeding $3,000 for a 0.5-inch-by-1-inch "moon box" that would accompany the lunar lander.
The Lunar Codex takes the form of a digitized collection of contemporary art stored on memory cards destined for permanent installation on the moon. The creative collection includes pieces of contemporary music, fiction, podcasts, films and art. The idea of having her work find a home on the moon excited Rode, but she always maintained a level of skepticism regarding the success of the Lunar Codex project.
"For me, it was always a little too good to be true," Rode said, addressing the part of her that doubted the Lunar Codex would successfully reach its destination. "As a sci-fi author in particular, I know how things can go wrong." She described how amazed she was as she watched the Peregrine lunar lander launch on Jan. 8; she could hardly believe that it was actually happening.
Unfortunately, an update on the mission issued by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic revealed that a critical fuel leak had developed just hours after the Peregrine lunar lander's successful launch and altered the situation, resulting in "no chance" that the craft will make a soft landing on the moon.
Moon landing attempt by US company appears doomed after 'critical' fuel leak
A moon landing attempt by a private U.S. company appears doomed because of a fuel leak on the newly launched spacecraft. Astrobotic Technology managed to orient the lander toward the sun Monday so its solar panel could capture sunlight and charge its onboard battery.While Rode described the outcome of the mission as disappointing, she also acknowledged how so many things needed to go right for the Peregrine lunar lander to get as far as it did. Fortunately, the Lunar Codex was backed up onto another memory drive before Peregrine's launch and is set to make another attempt for the moon this November aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander, the company's next lunar mission.
Aside from feeling disappointed about the mission's failure, Rode has instead focused on the good that came about because of the people behind the Lunar Codex and the Peregrine lunar lander. While acknowledging that it's always nice to learn through the scientific instruments that we send into space, Rode believes the fact that the lunar lander intended to bring human stories to a place that didn't have access to them before caught people's attention.
"I think it's the personal stories that are on that little data card that is touching people's hearts," Rode said, adding she believes the sacrifices made by the founders and organizers of the Lunar Codex project were a testament to what can be achieved through collaborating and supporting the creative designs of your colleagues.
Look at what we can accomplish together, even if it didn't work out — in the end, look at what we did, we shot some books into space! There's not a lot of people that can say that.
– Rebecca Rode, Utah author
"Look at what we can accomplish together, even if it didn't work out — in the end, look at what we did: We shot some books into space! There's not a lot of people that can say that," Rode said. Rode also found herself feeling grateful for the support from Utah's burgeoning young-adult fiction community.
Proudly, Rode also revealed that her daughter's first published book is also a part of the Lunar Codex's collection of digitized creative works. To her knowledge, her daughter, having published the book at age 12, is the youngest of the authors whose works are part of the Lunar Codex's collection.
Reflecting on the uncertainty surrounding whether the Peregrine craft will enter an uncontrollable high-speed collision with the moon's surface or wind up floating off into the endless void of space, Rode said she is hoping for the latter.
She explained that she would find it poetic if the craft and its cargo settled in a permanent place amongst the stars, echoing a well-known quote that she said has provided her comfort throughout the experience: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
