Artemis II: A Small Step Towards a Bigger Future

By S.D.

You may have heard of the Artemis II mission — and for good reason. Not only is it a crucial step in landing on the moon for a second time, it has broken the record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth.

It was launched April 1 and landed April 10, with everything, thankfully, going well, and all of the crew coming back intact.

From a student’s perspective, it is very inspiring to live through. For starters, the crew of the mission is extremely brave. There are so many ways things can go wrong, and for such small reasons. Launching and landing are especially dangerous, because you are not only fighting against gravity you are essentially a meteorite.

Something else that really stood out to me was the diversity of the crew. There was both a female astronaut, a Canadian astronaut, and an astronaut of color on the mission, which is significant specifically in the area of lunar missions.

I believe diversity is extremely important in representation, not to mention that gender, ethnicity, and cultural background don’t hinder success. I also appreciate that they finally named the mission Artemis instead of Apollo, as Artemis is the moon goddess in Greek mythology.

Something else that really stood out to me was how they documented the mission, from interviews to stunning photography.

The Artemis program is extremely exciting, as there are many missions to come. Artemis III is set to launch in 2027, with Artemis IV planned for early 2028. 

These missions will strive to explore the south pole of the moon, with Artemis III hoping to land the first woman on the moon, which I think we can all agree is long overdue. 

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls