M2CC MARCH 2024

10 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us MARCH 2024 EDITION WWW.M2CC.US
Newsletter | 11
Why Are Clocks
Set Forward in the
Spring? Thank
Wars, Confusion
and a Hunger for
Sunlight!
Once again, most Americans will set their clocks forward
How we came to move the clock forward in the
by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps a bit of sleep
spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale that
but gaining more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the
spans over more than a century — one that’s driven
days warm into summer. . There’s been plenty of debate
by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a
over the practice but about 70 countries currently use
human desire to bask in the sun for a long as possible.
Shepard, who was the first American to travel into
space.
Wittner’s training class, selected in 2021, was just
10 people chosen from a pool of 12,000 applicants.
Over the past two years, the astronauts completed
training across five subject categories, according
to NASA. They learned to operate and maintain
International Space Station systems. They trained
for spacewalks, learned Russian and robotics skills,
and operated a T-38 supersonic training jet.
It was during her first run in an underground pool
in a simulation of the ISS that Wittner felt the full
impact of what it means to be an astronaut. Standing
there in a full space suit, “that’s really when it starts
to hit.”
A trip to the moon?
Continued from page 1
Individual missions have yet to be assigned, but
could involve anything from research aboard the
International Space Station to launching commercial
spacecraft, or deep-space missions to destinations
including the moon, NASA said.
In 2017, the space agency launched the Artemis
project, a series of new lunar missions with the
ultimate goal of eventually launching a mission to
Mars. An uncrewed test flight was launched in 2022.
A second, fly-by mission was scheduled to happen
this year but was postponed until 2025.
“I would love to go to the moon,” says Wittner,
knowing its the consensus feeling among her peers.
“I think you’re going to hear that from a lot of
people.”
Of course, Wittner is a firm believer in following
passions — and her passion is exploration in all of
forms. Even though we’ve already been to the moon,
she says, these next visits will unlock an amazing
amount of new information and opportunity.
“That’s like the next frontier right now,” she says
“We know what questions need to be answered.”
what Americans call daylight saving time.
DALLAS — Once again, most Americans will set their
clocks forward by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps
a bit of sleep but gaining more glorious sunlight in the
evenings as the days warm into summer.
Where did this all come from, though?
There’s been plenty of debate over the practice, but
about 70 countries — about 40% of those across the
globe — currently use what Americans call daylight
saving time.
While springing the clocks forward “kind of jolts
our system,” the extra daylight gets people outdoors,
exercising and having fun, says Anne Buckle,
web editor at timeanddate.com, which features
information on time, time zones and astronomy.
“The really, really awesome advantage is the bright
evenings, right?” she says. “It is actually having
hours of daylight after you come home from work to
spend time with your family or activities. And that is
wonderful.”
Here are some things to know so you’ll be conversant
about the practice of humans changing time:
In the 1890s, George Vernon Hudson, an astronomer
and entomologist in New Zealand, proposed a time
shift in the spring and fall to increase the daylight.