Content area
Full text
Publication: Central Florida Future, , University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
USA TODAY
Show Caption
Hide Caption
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission sets stage for first commercial spacewalkWhen SpaceX launches the Polaris Dawn mission this month, it will go higher than any crewed mission since Apollo - but there's more to the story.
- "Kisses from Space" tells the story of a mother dragon who returns home to her children after an out-of-this-world adventure.
- Menon plans to read the book while in orbit aboard the SpaceX Dragon. She and the Polaris Dawn crew will also sign and auction off the book to support St. Jude.
Back in the days when both Anna Menon and her husband worked at SpaceX, the couple would spend daily commutes regaling their two children with fanciful stories.
The kids would soon be dropped off at daycare, and mom and dad would then head to SpaceX headquarters, at the time still located in the Los Angeles area. But despite the time the family spent apart, those stories they shared every day before separating became a meaningful way for them to remain connected.
In recent years, Menon found herself reflecting on those nostalgic memories as she trained for a journey that will in the coming days take her further from her family than she's ever been before. As she prepared to head to outer space as part of the all-civilian Polaris Dawn crew, Menon found yet another way to stay tethered to her kids back on Earth.
Earlier this year, Menon co-authored a children's book, "Kisses from Space," that stemmed from her desire to share her cosmic adventures with her two young children. Menon has shared the book with her son and daughter many times already, but when she launches next week on a SpaceX Dragon capsule, she plans to read the book to them from all the way in orbit.
“It’s a story...