Sue's Goal for the Website
It’s always surprising to me how much can change in just a couple years — we think the internet is eternal but it’s much closer to ephemeral. Links break, pages go down, books get delisted, life circumstances change: name changes, relationship changes, LIFE IS NOT CONSTANT. It’s funny how we forget that, living in the ever-present now.
That’s what makes a time capsule all the more special.
We captured a snapshot back in 2021 of everyone’s lives and books and excitement about the project. Here we are in 2023, finally getting to launch. And these words–your words–will be frozen in time, on the Moon.
Still gives me chills when I think about it.
MY COMMITMENT: to keep this website active as long as possible.
I have a note in my Final Letter to my heirs that I want them to set up the webiste in perpetuity. The domain name has to be renewed. The website hosting fees have to be paid. If possible, when software breaks, someone will port the website over to whatever hosting will carry forward. But it’s possible the website will last well past me… and whoever might find our capsule on the Moon will also find this chronicle on Earth: how we got here, how the project came to be, all the excitement (and heartbreak) of living in this time. (I’m also going to save it on the Wayback Machine!)
It might be a crazy dream… but I’ve had crazier ones. And you don’t get to be a novelist without having a small bit of audacity in you.
To the Moon!
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
AUTHORS ALERT YOUR STOWAWAYS!
I noticed lots of folks brought stowaways (which is awesome) but it’s up to you to make sure your stowaways know about the launch, join the Discord, sign up for the newsletter, etc!
Writers on the Moon, Manifest #51-90
The Stories Behind the Stories for Manifest authors #51-90 are live on the website.
Thanks to the generous help of Rhonda Hopkins and SJ Mayeski, we’re cracking along with getting your stories up on the website. I’m sending out emails with each one, so you should have gotten a notice to check your page — a few of you have broken links, so make sure to check.
Please take a moment to look through these stories of your fellow authors… and share their works (see the blog post!) so the readers of today (not just tomorrow) might learn of them.
#51 C.J. Booth
#53 Stephanie Damore
#54 Tina Glasneck
#55 Daphne Loveling
#56 Calla Zae
#57 M.C. Cerny
#58 Philip Harris
#59 Kristen Taber
#60 Bethany Adams
#61 Kari Kilgore
#62 Edward J. Branley
#63 Jennifer Willis
#64 T.J. Kelly
#65 Joslyn Westbrook
#66 Sasha Cottman
#67 Stella Bixby
#68 Jason A. Adams
#69 Russell Nohelty
#71 L.L. Richman
#72 Ryan Hill
#73 JL Blair
#74 Artemis Crow
#75 Chrys Fey
#76 Elaine Kaye
#77 Leah Ashton
#78 Sarah Ettritch
#79 Rhonda Hopkins
#80 Avril Sabine
#81 Kari Holloway
#83 Skye Malone
#84 Anastasia Wilde
#85 Deanna Chase
#86 SJ Mayeski
#87 Kate Danley
#88 Mona Marple
#89 Polly Holmes
COOL ANIMATION OF OUR ROCKET
Our ride to the Moon is a brand-new rocket design… which means this first flight is a “certification” flight. This video shows the different stages of the mission, including Peregrine separating from the rocket to head to the Moon while the remaining payload, Celestis Memorial Spaceflight, carries a range of items, including ashes from Star Trek’s Gene & Majel Roddenberry, Nichelle Nichols, and James Doohan, into orbit around the Sun (“the Enterprise Flight“).
