My Voyager experiences have had a significant impact on my life in various ways. One particular aspect that stands out is how the timing of the flybys influenced the births of my children. I often joke with my daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, that their births were determined by the alignment of the planets during the Voyager missions. They were born between the Voyager Saturn flyby in 1981 and the Uranus flyby in 1986. Interestingly, my friends Candy Hansen and Sue Linick, who were also Voyager moms, started their families during this time frame as well. As a result, our children grew up together, creating a special bond among our families.
During the Voyager missions, Candy Hansen was an experiment rep for the Imaging Science Subsystem, Sue Linick worked with the Ultraviolet Spectrometer, and Bob Nelson was responsible for the Photopolarimeter. In a memorable photo from that time, the four of us are shown with our heads carefully positioned to represent our respective instruments on the Voyager scan platform. This photo serves as a reminder of the unique relationship we shared as mothers and scientists during that exciting period in space exploration.