Artemis I

 

Artemis I is NASA's first step to returning to moon after 50 years since astronauts landed there for the last time.  The giant moon rocket at the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule will take off on Sept 2nd.

The SLS rocket will attempt to send the Orion capsule around the moon and back with no one aboard. Astronauts could circle the moon in 2024 and attempt a lunar landing in 2025.  Artemis exploration programs was named after God Apollo's twin sister Artemis in Greek mythology.

NASA official said that the moon missions will be central to its human spaceflight program which aims to establish ultimately a long-term presence on Moon's surface and prepare for future missions to Mars. 

NASA called off moon launch twice due to a hydrogen leak.  NASA said that Artemis I is now scheduled to launch on Sept 27 or Oct 2. 

Cape Tenaron

 

Cape Tenaron or cape Matapan is mainland Greece's southernmost point. It was the site of the Ancient city Taenarum.  Nearby is a cave legend claims was the home of Hades the God of underworld.  On the hill above the cave there is a temple dedicated to the God of the sea Poseidon.

Tenaron's lighthouse was built in 1892 and its luminosity was 12 nautical miles.  In 1984 it was upgraded with solar panels and its luminosity is now 22 nautical miles.  The trek to the lighthouse from the end of the paved road is 2.2 kilometers.  For those who decide to take the hike to this very interesting place is better to start early in the morning or late in the evening in order to avoid the blazing summer Greek sun as there is no shade in its entirety.  I visited the site in 1968 when I was serving in the Greek Navy and my brother visited it recently on foot.

Santorini - 2022

 

Santorini has changed a lot since I first visited it fifty-four years ago.  It is now one of the most glamorous and visited islands on planet earth.

The views of the Caldera from the patios of elegant hotels is stunning.

The 3-hour trek between Fira and Oia presents a most beautiful scenery.

Santorini has become the place where young persons from far away places such as the United States or China elect to give vows of everlasting love and devotion. 

On this visit I stayed in the lovely hotel Phaos, which patio overlooks the the islands of Anafi and Astypalea in the Aegean Sea.

As in my first visit in 1968, I visited once more Akrotiri the Bronze Age settlement, one of the most important Minoan urban centres in the Aegean Sea, when it was covered by ash following the volcanic eruption in the 17 century BC.  The ancient Minoan town at Santorini's south coast, is called the "Pompeii of Greece" and some archeologists theorise that it is the fictional island of Atlantis that was created by demi-gods who established a utopian society as described by Greek philosopher Plato. 

I am finishing the trilogy on Santorini with the lighthouse in its southern tip, likely the oldest in Greece, as it was built in 1892.  It was the purpose of my first visit to service it and my role as a young Navy physician to check the health status of its crew.  The view was beautiful then, like it is now, thus a large number of visitors keep coming in the evenings to look at the sun setting.  Each of my trips to Santorini left me with beautiful and indelible memories which I will cherish the rest of my life. 

Santorini - 1988

 
I returned to Santorini 20 years after my first visit.  At that time the construction had begun in earnest.  On the left you can see the spire and dome of the Catholic Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and on the right, the Candlemas Orthodox Cathedral was under reconstruction.

Before my trip to Santorini, we baptised my firstborn son on April 23, the feast day of Saint George, in the little chapel on mount Lycabetus in Athens.  A rare storm had blown by earlier resulting in a crystal clear Spring day with deep blue skies, we thus had a beautiful view of Athens and its nearby islands.

In the evening of our arrival in Santorini, I went out for a walk in the little town of Fira.  It was cold and windy as on my first visit 20 years before. It was after sunset, a light rain had started and I was walking alone.  At one point another person was walking the opposite direction towards me. He was wearing a black raincoat and a hat with a wide flat rim similar to the one of Don Quixote.  He was the Monseigneur of the Catholic Cathedral which was originally built in 1823 and restored in 1970.  The picture above is how the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist looks today.  

Santorini - 1968

 I visited Santorini for the first time in 1968 while I was serving in the Greek Navy.  It was a stormy day something which is not unusual for the Cycladitic islands known for their strong winds.  We anchored by the southernmost cape called Akrotiri.  

At that time tourists had just discovered this unique island and some visited it on mules or donkeys.  

I visited the island on foot.  The most important site then was, as it is now, the Bronze age city Akrotiri.

Akrotiri became known due to the excavations conducted under the supervision of the archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos in 1967.  I was lucky that Professor Marinatos was on the site at the time of my visit and gave me a tour of the ancient city that was covered completely during the volcanic explosion more that three millennia ago.  It is few times in our lives that we meet in person eminent individuals like him. 

The Endurance was found in the Antarctic

 The Endurance, the lost vessel of the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, was found after107 years it sank at the bottom of Weddell Sea.  The ship was crushed by sea-ice and sank on November 21, 1915.

The crew began to haul three lifeboats over the ice but were able to go a short distance.  On January 21, 1916 a blizzard blew the floe north forcing Shackleton and his men to make an astonishing escape.  On April 9, 1916 after 7 harrowing days across ferocious seas they reached the Elephant island.  With the long dark winter days looming, and his men half-starved Shackleton decided to attempt to sail a 22 foot lifeboat to South Georgia.

On April 24, 1916 Shackleton and five men set sail for South Georgia a 750 mile trip. They reached the island after 17 days in stormy seas.

On May 20, 1916 after trekking the mountainous island they reached the whaling station.  Three days later they depart and return to Elephant island to rescue the stranded crew.  After several attempts using different boats, they reached Elephant island on August 30, 1916.  On September 3, 1916 Shackleton and his crew arrived at Punta Arenas, Chile. 

 

All 28 men survived! 

Even though the Endurance has been at a depth of 3000 meters of water, it is preserved in a remarkable condition with its timbers very much together, and the name - Endurance - clearly visible on the stern.

George Marston painting depicting Shackleton and the James Caird landing on South Georgia by Royal Geographic Society.

Long live Ukraine

The world enters the Nuclear age when the U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII.

Four years later the USSR tests successfully its nuclear bomb and the nuclear age starts in earnest.

The world came close to nuclear war when the USSR wished to install intercontinental missiles in Cuba the range of which covered the entire U.S.  President Khrushchev asked his fleet to return to Russia when American warships moved to intercept them and thus a nuclear holocaust was averted.

President George Bush of the U.S. and the Secretary General of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev signed the historic nonproliferation treaty in 1991 which was the end of the Cold War between the two superpowers.

On Feb 21,2022 Russia recognises the two break away republics Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's Dombas region.  Three days later Russia invades Ukraine from the North, East and South.

On Feb 28, 2022 President Putin places Russia's nuclear forces on high alert following a comment by the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

I hope Ukraine and Russia reach an agreement in the United Nations session to be held soon allowing Ukraine to stay an independent country.  Then the US and EU lift their sanctions against Russia and the world to avoids a nuclear catastrophe.