We honor our generations of ancestors, not just from our mission but the other two missions as well. We pray that they have had the same blessings and fortunes in their missions as we have had in ours.
We honor those fore-thoughtful minds who bravely stood by their predictions of life ending disasters on Earth providing the push that changed the purpose of the H E missions from an "exploration" category into a "survival of the species" category. Had they not stood by their convictions, none of us would be here today.
We remember and acknowledge the incredible agony that was running through the minds of the mission decision makers in knowing that they were sending living, breathing human beings into outer space, never to return and never to be seen by the eyes of Earth again.
We mourn all those who have lost their lives in this journey. Whether the loss was a sacrifice to keep others from danger or a loss from reaching the end of their time in life, all have contributed to the survival of this mission and more importantly the survival of the human species.
For those who decided to stay behind on the resource planets and asteroids, please take all necessary precautions to keep your life support and communication equipment operational. We deeply appreciate your sacrifice and efforts to provide the mission with needed resources. Know that we respect your decision to stay behind and also know that you are deeply missed by all.
We continue to pray that the loss of communications with Earth 243 years ago was not due to a life extinction event on our mother planet. Although our very mission is designed with that specific scenario in mind, we will continue to keep our prayers active for the continuation of life on Earth.Looking forward, each of us must never forget where we came from, who we are and why we are on this mission. There is not and never has been an option for turning back. Humanity will either survive as a result of the continued successes of this mission or it will cease to exist if this mission fails. Tau Ceti grows larger in front of us each day reminding us of the importance in keeping the parameters and objectives of this mission clear and that all actions we take should be taken in support of those mission objectives.
May God continue to bless each and every one of you and your efforts for the continuation of the human race. We are all in this together and I love each and every one of you. Thank you.
