By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – As Artemis II captured the nation and world during its journey toward the moon, Andrew Riddle, an engineer contracted by NASA and a member of First Baptist Church, New Orleans, said the lunar orbit highlighted God’s creation.
After graduating from Saint Louis University, Riddle moved to New Orleans and began working at Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans East as a propulsion engineer on the core stage of the space launch system rocket. After almost six years of work, he said that seeing it take off in person from Kennedy Space Center was surreal.
FAITH-DRIVEN
Riddle said his faith in the Lord plays a part in his appreciation of space and creation.
“I’m driven by a desire to better understand creation, like many scientists and explorers throughout history,” Riddle told the Baptist Message. “The night sky especially has always left me in awe of God’s beauty, power and majesty.”
He added that the mission has generated renewed excitement by many young people in space exploration.
“I love seeing younger people get excited about this new era of exploration,” he said. “My dad grew up during the space race in the sixties and it had a huge impact on him which was transferred to me. Getting to be a part of it now and knowing that kids like my dad are growing up right now seeing what I work on is super humbling. I try to give back when I can.”
RECORD MISSION
Artemis II, which launched from Florida on April 1, broke Apollo 13’s record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from earth when they reached 252,756 miles. During the mission, the team of astronauts documented scenes of the lunar far side that have never been seen before by the naked eye. They also captured a total solar eclipse.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen returned to earth the evening of April 10, when they splashed down off the coast in San Diego, Calif.
“The crew capsule and all the reentry, splashdown and recovery is done by a different team, so I just watched the live stream with a bunch of coworkers at a local watch party,” Riddle said. “It feels good knowing the astronauts are back home safely.”
