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[b]Astrobotic Announces MoonMail Contest Winner[/b] [i]Students to Send SD Card with Collection of Creative Talents to the Moon[/i] Astrobotic Technology Inc. is pleased to announce, Balko Public School, as the winner of the first MoonMailTM Contest. Balko Public School consists of 155 students, with grades Kindergarten through 12th Grade, in Balko, Oklahoma. The winning MoonMail Capsule will carry a micro SD Card with poetry, creative writing, artwork, musical recordings, and photographs from the students. The entry was submitted by faculty member, Paul Merlo, in cooperation with students from Balko Public School. "We received numerous heart felt stories that made it very difficult to decide on just one winner." says John Thornton, Astrobotic’s CEO. "The entry of Balko Public School captured the goal of the MoonMail program, which is to inspire and allow people from around the world to have a personal connection to the Moon, now and for generations to come. We welcome the students, and the entire Balko Community aboard our first lunar mission." Earlier this month, Astrobotic unveiled MoonMail, a service that permits the public to send mementos to the Moon on Astrobotic’s first commercial lunar mission. During the kick off, Astrobotic announced the contest as a way to engage the public’s imagination and stoke new ideas for interacting with the Moon. The contest generated traction from all over the United States along with international attention from Canada, United Kingdom, India, and Malaysia. Many entries focused on obtaining a MoonMail Capsule to symbolize love for a spouse, family member, or even a pet. Other entries sought to commemorate our era and celebrate the beauty of our home planet. The full text of the winning entry can be seen below. [i]We are students of Balko Public Schools, a small public school of 155 students from Kindergarten to 12th Grade, in Oklahoma. We propose to send a SD card containing samples of our poetry, creative writing, artworks, recordings of our choral and instrumental talents, and photographs of our students in a MoonMail capsule aboard the Griffin Lander. It will serve to inspire our current and future students to look up into the sky, and know that we have gifts, talents, and energy that can and should be shared for the benefit of all Humankind. That we have an opportunity, even a responsibility, to contribute our special talents and gifts to the benefit and the future of Humankind. That we have a place in, and can make a meaningful contribution to, the bold adventure of Human accomplishment and progress. Our Community is nestled in the heart of the nation, between the states of Texas and Kansas, in a strip of sun burnt land called the Panhandle. Only 170 miles long and barely 40 miles wide, most people barely give it a second look, considering it is a land that is only fit to drive or fly across. The people of Balko, Oklahoma are the result of generations living in a land that most people would consider inhospitable. The sons and daughters of almost every culture came together with one goal: to make something out of nothing. Living in a challenging land at its best, the modern people of Balko are the descendants of settlers who stayed and succeeded when the great drought and Dust Bowl of the 1930’s drove less hardy people away. When Humanity colonizes the stars it will need people such as these, who can and will commit to the land, endure the hardships and challenges of unknown climate and soil, appreciate the innate beauty of the new landscape and nurture a respectful integration of humanity and new world. Although the Balko Public School District is not wealthy in funds, it is rich in potential and commitment, looking for and finding cutting edge tools to broaden the opportunity for and scope of the educational experience for students. Our students demonstrate accomplishment in almost every area, including the publication of poetry, awards for writing, scholastic achievements, athletics, and FFA achievements. Even so, because of the deep, necessitous and historical ties to this land, our focus is often inward and downward, to the community and to the Earth, itself. Those of us who on occasion look upward often see no place for ourselves in the clear and breathtaking night sky. Some students never look up into the invitation of the cosmos at all, seeing their future as locked to the land and to this place. We believe that the inclusion of our video card in this lunar mission will be a beacon for all the young people of Balko Oklahoma; establishing our permanent presence in the infinite universe and staking an undeniable claim to both a place in, and our ability to contribute to, the future of Humankind. For those students whose gaze is ever downward and earthbound, there will now be a reason to gaze into the heavens. When they do, they will know that Balko students could and did touch the face of the moon. That they too are capable of reaching any goal and that their brilliance, their industry and their courage is a necessary contribution to the next great Human adventure.[/i]
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