Go.
The Artemis II launch, a Pink Moon, and Passover walked into the same night. I don't think that's an accident
I am thinking about how many people are standing on the verge of their own launch moment right now.
I watched the Artemis II launch today — the first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years. And the swell of emotion I felt, along with thousands of others, was the release of tension that lives right before the moment.
The hesitation. The second-guessing. The part that wants certainty before it commits.
That’s where most people stop.
(Speaking of stopping — there's a paper shredder going off in the background of my recording halfway through, so I understand if you want to stop. But I kept going anyway — because that's what God told me to do.)
One of the participants in the Coaches Training Program I support sent a text to our group chat: “Don’t miss the launch!”
I typed back: “I’M WATCHING!!! 28 SECONDS.”
Tears of awe began to well in my eyes as launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said to the crew:
“You are the hopes and dreams of a new generation.”
At 6:35pm EDT, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch — along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on a 10-day journey around the moon and back.
Victor Glover became the first person of color — the first Black man — to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch became the first woman. Jeremy Hansen became the first non-American to travel to the moon’s vicinity. Reid Wiseman became the oldest person to leave low Earth orbit.
Four astronauts. Four firsts. One launch.
I thought about Christina Koch’s to-do list for today:
Put on special orange suit
Be ready to react to any issue
Be ready for any abort
There’s no taking it back once you launch to the moon. They just go.
Koch has already spent 328 days in space — a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She knows what the “big gaping hole of blackness” looks like. And she put her attention not on the fear — but on how everything in her life had prepared her for this moment.
Koch is known for encouraging others to do what scares them. She didn’t wait until it felt safe.
She went.
In that group chat I mentioned, only one of us was alive the last time NASA sent humans to the moon. December 1972. Over 50 years ago.
And today — on April 1st, 2026 — they went again.
Tonight there’s a Pink Moon. 🌕
Jewish families around the world are sitting at Passover tables tonight telling the story of liberation — of leaving what no longer serves them. Of finally going.
Three different events. One invitation.
On Holy Monday I wrote about staying. About surrender. About the moment God whispered “not yet.” Two days later the universe is talking about launch. Both are true. And maybe that’s exactly the order it had to happen in — the clearing before the launch.
What are you finally ready to launch into?
The hesitation is real. The second-guessing is real. The wanting certainty before you commit — I know that feeling intimately.
The tension you feel right before the moment isn’t a sign that something is wrong.
It’s a sign that something matters.
Everything has been preparing you for this.
I’ve coached people through their own launch moments for years. And when the Artemis II crew returns from their journey around the moon — they’ll splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
My city.
Where I watch people launch into their own next chapter every single month.
If something in this is stirring in you — I’d love to be part of your launch.
Here’s what’s available through Ignite Your Life Coaching:
🔥 One-on-One Coaching
👥 Group Coaching — $250/month (open enrollment)
🏢 Coaching for Teams
Ready to talk about your launch? DM me or reply to this post.
🌿 A Note About Me
I'm Annie Petersen — a Spirit-Led Leadership Coach, former Emmy Award-winning television news producer, and founder of Ignite Your Life Coaching in San Diego. I coach high-achieving women who appear successful on the outside and are ready to finally go on the inside.
Ahem. Many of us were alive in 1972. I watched that launch and all the others before it. Check your data.