Organized by cofounder of the Antarctic Astronomical Society, Nick Greene, with the assistance of McMurdo’s Protestant and Catholic chaplains, the Space Shuttle Columbia memorial service was held in the Chapel of the Snows.
Chaplain Lt Col Reynolds opened the service, saying, "It’s good that we’re here to share each other’s burden, because alone, it’s too much to bear. It’s good we’re here to mourn the loss. We need each other to share our burdens and the mutual consolation that comes from sharing."
After a hymn, Greene, a Ground Electronics Manager (GEM) with the Aviation Technical Services (ATS) division, reflected on the lives of the Space Shuttle Columbia’s crewmembers. He read a brief biography of each, and spoke of the ones they had left behind.
Next, another Ground Electronics Manager with ATS, Mike Rugg, read from Psalms. After Captain David Panzer, a pilot with the 109th Air Lift Wing of the New York Air National Guard, offered a prayer, an appropriate hymn, “Bless Thou the Astronauts Who Face” (To the tune of the Navy Hymn), was sung.
Chaplain Lt Col Toner closed the service with a Benediction.
"I wanted everyone to leave with a better understanding of the astronauts as human, not just anonymous names on a list," said Nick Greene, who is also the Antarctic coordinator for the UN World Space Week. "The loss of Columbia and her crew affected me on so many levels; as an employee of a government agency which deals with space issues (Space & Naval Warfare Command), as a journalist covering space, and as a lifelong supporter of the space program. I have vivid memories of space triumphs and tragedies throughout my lifetime, from the Apollo 1 fire and Challenger tragedy to watching Neil Armstrong take those first small steps on the moon. I grieve for the loss of these seven heroes and for the affect it will have on the space program. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of Columbia’s crew."
Chaplain Lt Col Pat Toner, a Catholic priest with the 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard, said, "It’s hard to put into words. Any endeavor that mankind has entered into has always been with great risk, whether attempting to reach the South Pole or exploring regions of space. Others have always benefited by the work tried, even if it didn’t succeed."
Chaplain Lt Col Marti Reynolds, a Lutheran minister with the 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian, MS and chaplain at the VA hospital of Jackson, MS said, "I would certainly hope this tragedy doesn’t dampen our desire to explore. As Chaplain in Antarctica, I know the value of exploration and scientific investigation."
In McMurdo, and throughout the world, people are pausing to celebrate the lives of the seven brave souls, the crew of the who risked all to advance the human race. They will live forever in out hearts and minds. From the bottoms of our hearts at the bottom of the world, our thoughts are with the families.
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McMurdo Station, located 726 miles from the South Pole is the National Science Foundation's (NSF) logistics and science hub in Antarctica. It is the largest facility on the continent. Besides research conducted in and around McMurdo, itself, scientists and workers at many American facilities, as well as those of other nations pass through going to and from those sites.
More information about McMurdo and Polar Research online.
