By Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides It was reported that NASA has moved the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Launch window to open on November 24th, 2008, three days before Thanksgiving. This would not be the first time that NASA flight controllers have had to alter their holiday plans for a mission. Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968. Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars on July 4th, 1997. and most recently Mars Phoenix landed on Memorial Day weekend. Are NASA managers hoping for a big launch while all of America is gathered around their TV sets? Are LRO flight controllers hoping for a slip into the first week of December? If the LRO launch slips too much it could interrupt Christmas and other holiday plans since the goal of LRO is to get the launch off before the end of the year. Maybe having to miss Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws is a small price to pay to get to be a part of an historic mission that they will all get to watch on TV. Maybe tying your mission to a holiday is a good way to get a lot of people to hear about it. Waiting until people have woken up from the shuffle of everyday life to stop and honor their family, appreciate all that they have been given, and maybe even turn a look upwards to the moon and allow themselves to think about what wonders the future holds for those willing to dream, to risk and to dare. So thank you in advance to the LRO team, whatever holiday might get interrupted. Thank you for the hard work, thank you for the high resolution maps that will make future lunar missions easier, thank you for paving the way for the next great phase of lunar exploration. P.S. If LRO does launch during Thanksgiving week, I promise to bake a Moon themed pie for our celebrations!