I had the great pleasure of visiting the Naval Academy last month. Anybody who walks across this campus must know they are following in the footsteps of legendary figures. Yesterday this institution hosted Jim Lovell's private memorial service and burial.

Of the three members of the Apollo 11 moon landing crew, ironically two of them have written books entitled Mission to Mars. Michael Collins's is from 1990 and Buzz Aldrin's is from 2013. One might call that a link between two movies we have done for #HATM: First Man and The Martian. #HATM

Andy Weir's novel ends very differently from the movie. This sequence about Watney's post-mission life is not in the novel. #HATM

I do not recall the movie making any reference to radiation exposure for Watney or his crewmates aboard the Hermes. How would this affect the astronauts? #HATM

In case you're wondering about the issue of U.S.-China cooperation in spaceflight depicted here, the 2011 Wolf Amendment prohibits this. The name refers to former Virginia Representative Frank Wolf. #HATM

The term "steely eyed missile man" in this movie is a reference to NASA flight controller John Aaron. He is the one who made that amazing call during the launch of Apollo 12 in 1969. I saw him in Tulsa, Oklahoma this year. #HATM

Watney just asked "How did the launch go?" from space after a terrible accident. That reminds me of a real life moment from 2015, when astronaut Scott Kelly found out about a failed Falcon launch intended to send a Dragon resupply spacecraft to the ISS where he was. #HATM

One other question that Zubrin raises in his book concerns leisure opportunities on the Martian surface. What sport would you like to play there? I would be intrigued by the idea of basketball, given the ability to jump in the reduced gravity. #HATM

And now we see the interior of the Hermes spacecraft with the rest of the crew. I understand that the vehicle is nuclear powered and capable of generating artificial gravity for the benefit of the crew, much like the Discovery One in 2001: A Space Odyssey. #HATM

Here we see an allusion to thr Mars Pathfinder mission that landed on July 4, 1997. This was the first U.S. landing on Mars since the Vikings of the 1970s and the first in an Internet age. The website devoted to the mission was one of the most visited during those early days of web browsers. #HATM

And since this is a movie about a Mars mission, I would like to make everybody aware of the work of Dr. Robert Zubrin. He has become the most renowned advocate of Mars exploration, forming a plan for sending crews to the planet called Mars Direct. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTG2W8X... #HATM

The NASA CHAPEA facility in Houston, Texas has been hosting crews for Mars mission simulations for the past few years. Crews have tested the human element as it concerns communication delays and equipment malfunctions. #HATM

In case you're wondering, the first potatoes grown in space date to a shuttle Columbia mission in 1995. NASA officials prioritized potatoes due to their caloric content and adaptability to unfavorable environments. #HATM

Are any of you fans of the 2000 movie Mission to Mars, starring Gary Sinise? That movie also features a dust storm as an element of the plot, but focuses on the theme of extraterrestrial life as opposed to the theme of human ingenuity that we see here. #HATM

From an online search today, the first movie made about Mars travel I was able to find dates to 1910. This followed the cultural fascination with the Red Planet at the time, especially following Percival Lowell's speculation on the presence of artificial canals there. #HATM

In 1969, NASA officials championed a timeline calling for a crewed Mars mission as early as 1981. How would the United States and the world have been affected by such a commitment? #HATM

1) A Man on the Moon by Andy Chaikin, First Man by James Hansen, the memoirs of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle astronauts, and of course my own book on astronaut training. 2) Meatball Sub at my temporary home in Lawrenceville, GA. #HATM

Latest book read and reviewed: Midway: The Pacific War's Most Famous Battle, by Mark E. Stille. My trip to Annapolis and my watching of a recent Great Courses series inspired my reading of this amazingly detailed account. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Congratulations from a fellow University of Iowa graduate, Megan! I am glad that such a good person has reached the pinnacle of her sport.

Latest Great Courses series watched: The Future of Space Exploration. I believe that the benefits of spaceflight will fall into two main goals: exploration and resource utilization. Ariel Ekblaw believes in these goals as well and explains them here. www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-future-o...

Looking forward to this one. I first saw it at a theater in College Station, TX, when I was in the Texas A&M Ph.D program with @phdrachel.bsky.social. I also read Andy Weir's novel afterwards.

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Erie Canal. This article draws attention to the harmful effects of the project on indigenous people. Does anybody who teaches U.S. history focus on this aspect of the Erie Canal? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/n...

Tonight, it's Cam Schlittler's world. All the rest of us are just living in it.

Latest Great Courses series watched: The History of the United States Navy. I heard from Craig Symonds in Annapolis this month, then I finished his incisive look at two and a half centuries of American seagoing prowess. www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-history-...

My watercolor art of Artemis II Crew: Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch.

The Orion spacecraft that will fly NASA's Artemis II astronauts to the moon now has a name: "Integrity."

Happy birthday in heaven, John. More than half a century has now passed since your Apollo 16 mission, but the crewed lunar exploration that you envisioned and advocated for is closer now than it has been at any point in this twenty-first century.

I just attended a 30th anniversary screening of Apollo 13 at an IMAX in Buford, Georgia. The movie teaches us a vital lesson for 2025: that when we pull in a common direction and sacrifice some of our comfort with other people in mind, we can solve enormous problems.

NASA has chosen its 24th class of astronaut candidates since the Mercury 7 were selected in 1959. The 10 women and men, who will report for two years of training, were named at a ceremony held at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday (Sept. 22).

I saw this in downtown Annapolis, MD today. #HATM

I just heard a great presentation about an upcoming National Museum of the United States Navy coming to Washington, DC. What a treat it was to hear from and speak to Rajshree Solanski at the McMullen conference today.

In honor of my trip to Annapolis, I will remind naval historians of this: six of the seven men who commanded Apollo moon landing missions had Navy backgrounds. Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton was an Air Force man, but he was willing to let this happen.

Ready for my first ever McMullen Naval History Symposium!

One of my first experiences with #HATM was watching The Natural in 2020. Thanks for the memories, Robert Redford!

#Rememberthesky 24 years after the most tragic day in modern American history, we must remember the words of Port Authority officer Will Jimeno: "I saw a lot of love that day." What are we doing to care for each other during the 2020s, as Americans and crewmembers of Spaceship Earth?

Pleased to explore the city of Atlanta this weekend, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home and community, an Atlanta Braves game, and an Atlanta Falcons game (the first NFL game I have ever attended).

Latest book read and reviewed: The Yankee Way, by Andy Martino. This longtime journalist has authored one of the best behind-the-scenes accounts of baseball management in the twenty-first century. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The latest Great Courses series I have finished is Play Ball!: The Rise of Baseball as America's Pastime. I recommend this look at the evolution of the game, from the early nineteenth century through the early twentieth. www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/play-ball-th...

IFT-10: All in all, a remarkably successful flight, indicating SpaceX fixed the problems that led to three back-to-back Starship failures earlier this year

Cam Schlittler in August: 5 Starts 27.2 IP 1.63 ERA .188 opp BA 31 K / 10 BB

Latest book read and reviewed: Summer of '49, by David Halberstam. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Glad to contribute to this!

The Apollo mission's latest discovery has been made - more than 50 years after it ended! A recently opened sample is revealing more about one of the Moon’s most unusual structures - the Light Mantle. Discover what's been uncovered 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Latest book read and reviewed: Moon Men Return, by Scott Carmichael. This is the definitive account of the recovery of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and crew by the USS Hornet on July 24, 1969. My trip to see the frogmen in Wapakoneta this summer inspired this choice! www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I recommend this documentary. It tells the human side of Apollo, with a focus not on the astronauts but on those who worked for years to make the program successful in other capacities, particularly in Florida. m.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ5T...

Latest book read and reviewed: Splashdown, by John Wolfram. I bought the book at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio this summer! www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I visited the Gemini VIII spacecraft during my trip to Wapakoneta, Ohio this summer and realize now that one of the crewmen, Dave Scott, is the earliest flown U.S. astronaut still living. Only he and Buzz Aldrin can still tell us about flying in this vehicle.

Well, this is the day I have long dreaded. I will always reflect on the time I spent growing up learning about the exploits of Jim Lovell. He seemed like the most easygoing person one could ever meet, as he was a next door neighbor rather than a renowned astronaut. www.nbcnews.com/news/obituar...

Hot take time! So, about that Sean Duffy claim of wanting NASA to put a nuclear power plant on the Moon... www.youtube.com/watch?v=syLN...

My panel at the McMullen Naval History Conference will take place on Thursday, Sept. 18 and will be chaired by Dr. Mark Folse. He is a Marine infantry veteran who has authored a book called The Globe and Anchor Men: U.S. Marines and Manhood in the Great War Era.