CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Everyone has a mom and just because you're 240 miles (386 kilometers) above the planet is no excuse not to remember her on Mother's Day.
That was the message beamed to Earth from the International Space Station on Friday as Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms took time to share her thanks and love for her mother, Dori Helms, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"I wanted to take this opportunity to send her a Mother's Day greeting because she is a special person to me and means a lot to me," Helms radioed from space as she floated near a station computer monitor proudly displaying a picture of the astronaut with her parents.
"It's hard to be an astronaut. It takes a lot of work and dedication. But I've only been an astronaut about 10 or 11 years, and she's been a mom over 45 years, and I think that's probably a lot harder job," Helms said. "So Mom, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your love and dedication and support because, without it, my sisters and I would not be where we are today, and we surely owe so much of that to you, so thank you."
With the world literally at her feet, Helms then sent a message to every human on the planet, noting first that everyone has a mother.
"I'd like you all to take a moment on Mothers' Day to make sure that you let her know how special she is to you, if you can," Helms said. "If you can't, send her good thoughts. And if you can, go and give her a hug because you would not be where you are today without her care and support and love, and this is surely something you must appreciate."
Helm's American crewmate, Jim Voss, took Helms' advice: "I need to wish my wife a happy Mother's Day. I hope my daughter will remember to do that."
Meanwhile, both of the station's U.S. astronauts, as well as the outpost's current commander -- Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev -- reported they were feeling great and making good progress on their work thanks to the slow schedule they enjoyed while space tourist Dennis Tito was onboard following shuttle Endeavour's visit.
NASA mission managers said they intentionally reduced Helms' and Voss' work load so the astronauts could keep an eye on Tito and make sure their guest wouldn't get into any mischief, something that didn't happen and apparently was more productive for the station program as a result.
"We've been rejuvenated by a little bit of time off there since [Endeavour] was here, so it seems like that has recharged our batteries and we were definitely ready to get back to work," Helms said.
During this past week the crew began tests of the new Canadian robot arm that was installed during Endeavour's mission. The tests will continue every Thursday until Atlantis arrives at Alpha in June with a new airlock that will be installed at the station by Helms using the new outpost crane.
The Expedition Two crew this week also used spare parts to assemble a new computer for the station that eventually will join two others in controlling outpost systems.
"It was a little bit like installing maybe a joystick card in your computer at home, only we just tried to be a little more careful," Voss said.
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