As I write this, four people are on their way to the moon. You might have watched the blastoff of Artemis II on April Fool Day. A very big deal. They’ll be back on planet Earth, April 10. Their mission includes circling the moon and going 4,144 miles farther than Apollo 13 traveled in April 1970, making it humankind’s most distant point ever from Earth.
They are not stopping to hop down several steps from their cramped space capsule and set foot on the moon. They are only going to circle it. That fact has generated some confusion about the mission. We landed on the moon in 1969. Circling it 57 years later seems less momentous for some. So what gives?
NASA has revitalized its lunar endeavors to include not only to again have astronauts park and explore but to eventually build infrastructure allowing longer human presence there. OK, but how does the non-stop Artemis II mission help with that?
The mission will test life support and environmental systems. Rocket science!
The astronauts will get a look at the moon’s dark/far side. Think of it as NASA being in the real estate business now. Drive by the property again, five decades later, to see how the place is holding up. Does it have that “curb appeal” and all the rest that goes with considering a new home?
So let’s just fly around and look around. Out and back. No lockbox left behind for other interested parties to make bigger plans.
Also, getting off Mother Earth for 10 days right now seems inviting. The moon is a quieter place to live. Much quieter.
Joseph Harrington
Oak Park