Flora Lichtman

Is it like just deja vu?

I mean, when your dad became an astronaut, you were three.

And when he started, I mean, being an astronaut was a completely new job, right?

Like it had been science fiction before.

I mean, I'm sure at the time it felt, you know, it was what you knew, but in retrospect.

Was there a culture to your community, like, you know, special quirks or superstitions or rules that you grew up with that felt particular to being in an astronaut community?

Was everyone in your circle like a super overachiever?

Yeah.

Yeah, just like, yeah, it was everyone sort of like, when I think of astronauts, they're so capable, right?

Like they're MacGyvers and they have PhDs and they can fly planes and they can also fix a toilet, you know?

That's what I want to talk about.

I mean, were families involved with the space program?

Is it like the presidency where spouses and kids have a job?

Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

You've done oral histories with the spouses of some of these Apollo astronauts.

I mean, how do they see themselves in terms of this era?

Do they feel like they were integral and are under-recognized?

Like, what's their perspective on their own role?

I love getting a window into this world.

We have to take a break, but coming up, a look at today's Artemis II mission and what's changed for astronauts and their families in the last 50 years.