Dr. Kay Heggestad holds her granddaughter while posing with an astronaut. Heggestad was a devoted Star Trek fan, especially fond of the characters Dr. Beverly Crusher and Leonard "Bones" McCoy.
Paul Wertsch pages through a book of photos of his wife, Kay Heggestad, at his kitchen table. The pair were married for nearly 49 years until Heggestad died of myeloma in 2017. "She was a strange lady," Wertsch said. "We miss her every day."
Kay Heggestad disguises herself as a pirate during a hospital trip. Heggestad's son, Greg Wertsch, has fond memories of his mother's sense of humor, strong until the end. When she'd been having trouble swallowing while on her deathbed, Wertsch recalled offering to bring her some ice. Heggestad, who had decided to donate her brain to Alzheimer's research, misunderstood her son's offer. "No, don't take my brain yet," he remembered her saying.
Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania company, unveiled its lunar lander named Peregrine Wednesday. Peregrine is set to be the first U.S. lunar lander to touch down on the Moon since the Apollo missions nearly 50 years ago. Its unveiling is a sign of Peregrine's state of readiness as it moves closer to its launch date, scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, said Peregrine will play a major role in the return to the Moon. "This is very important because their next one that's going in '23 (2023) is going to be us landing on the south pole of the Moon, where the resources are, where water is. And if we have water, we have rocket fuel." Peregrine's unveiling took place at Astrobotic's headquarters, an approximately 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility dedicated to developing and operating lunar spacecraft.
About a teaspoon of the Madison doctor's ashes were slated to land on the moon Feb. 23, aboard a capsule on the Vulcan rocket that took off Monday.
Dr. Kay Heggestad holds her granddaughter while posing with an astronaut. Heggestad was a devoted Star Trek fan, especially fond of the characters Dr. Beverly Crusher and Leonard "Bones" McCoy.
Kay Heggestad disguises herself as a pirate during a hospital trip. Heggestad's son, Greg Wertsch, has fond memories of his mother's sense of humor, strong until the end. When she'd been having trouble swallowing while on her deathbed, Wertsch recalled offering to bring her some ice. Heggestad, who had decided to donate her brain to Alzheimer's research, misunderstood her son's offer. "No, don't take my brain yet," he remembered her saying.
Paul Wertsch pages through a book of photos of his wife, Kay Heggestad, at his kitchen table. The pair were married for nearly 49 years until Heggestad died of myeloma in 2017. "She was a strange lady," Wertsch said. "We miss her every day."
