When NASA first announced that it was going to focus on getting back to the moon, the news was met with an eye roll and an "OK, so?" here in the Kruiser Bunker. I am a man of a certain age, and was around for all of the lunar hoopla of the 1960s and '70s. Those of us who came of age then were under the impression that we regular folk would be shuttling back and forth to the moon by now. It was nice that NASA was going to start getting close enough to take better pics of the moon, but Elon Musk and SpaceX were talking about going to Mars.
That, as the advertising people used to say, has some sizzle.
Then, NASA got a little more serious with its plans and said that it would be working on establishing a lunar base, with a long-term goal of it being a jumping-off point to go to Mars. Now we were moving closer to the kind of Jetsons stuff that kids from the '60s have been longing for. Still, the Artemis program was hanging around the periphery of my space news awareness.
I watched the launch because I watch all of the launches — the thrill has never gone out of those for me. That was that, however, and back to the periphery the Artemis II went.
Something happened as they got closer to the moon, though. That childlike sense of wonder and excitement began to stir in me. One doesn't get much of that at my age. It was doubly welcomed given that I'd just had a milestone birthday. I think another big part of my reaction was that the news is such a slog these days, what with all of the war and Democrats in the world.
The pure joy of seeing spectacular shots from space was a welcome and healthy distraction.
Another bonus is that this Artemis II crew has often been very eloquent when communicating what they're seeing. One hears the thrill and happiness in their voices, too. It's an all-around good time that makes me hope they get to work on the moon base and perhaps some longevity drugs so that I can get up (out?) there one day.
Even if I never get there, this trip has made me want to look for opportunities to be less curmudgeonly. That could be one of NASA's biggest accomplishments since Apollo 11.
I'll leave you with this, my friends.
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