Astronaut Reid Wiseman's open excitement about being in space is killing me. His tweets are full of such open delight, it's like getting a live feed of fanboyish squealing paired with the always-astounding view from the International Space Station.
Reid's daughters gave him a giraffe for good luck, which he dangled in the Soyuz cockpit as a "zero-G mascot" to demonstrate when they were in microgravity. Image credit: NASA
Before they launched on May 27th, Wiseman and his crewmates were asked how United States-Russia tensions were impacting them. They chose a non-verbal answer:
Since Soyuz docked, Wiseman has been sending home a steady stream of open wonderment, unabashed joy, and awe tinged with just a hint of disbelief. Why do we bother sending humans to space when robots are so much more efficient? Because this type of enthusiasm is inspiring and contagious.
If that wasn't cute enough, Reid brought a toy giraffe with him to orbit, who he reports is now floating in his bedroom. Wiseman's first experience in microgravity makes his stomach feel full all the time and leaves him befuddled upon waking, but he doesn't care because he's freaking floating in space. Yeah, I'm going to really enjoy hearing about Mission 40 through his enthusiastic perspective. Thank you, Reid, for not being too proud to be giddy in public.