Forget Mars, let’s build some Moon colonies.
It’s the big day of the Artemis II launch, and I forgot to wear my NASA socks. Once again, I’m out of fashion.
Socks, both good and bad, are like the tools that support bigger missions. Perfect socks let us focus on what matters, much like the right preparations free explorers to aim for the stars—like today’s Artemis II launch.
Poor socks distract from the larger journey, just as poor tools or planning threaten any big mission—space or otherwise. Astronauts, like all pioneers, know the value of equipment that works.
Space Truckin’
There are probably more important things to discuss beyond socks.
For instance, the historic nine-day trip around the moon and back is projected to send the Artemis crew farther from Earth than ever before, surpassing the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 miles set in 1970. It will also be the first crewed lunar flight in over 50 years.
It’s remarkable to consider that, within a single century, we progressed from the Wright brothers to space travel. America first landed astronauts on the Moon on July 16, 1969.
As part of NASA’s ambitious Apollo 11 program, three men (Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin) took the incredible voyage as 600 million viewers watched live on broadcast television.
Roughly 56 years later, no single event has equaled such magnitude. Sure, we’ve had significant worldwide events, wars, technological advancements, automated kiosks, and soul-crushing AI taking over everything, but monumental space exploration remains few and far between.
The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Christina Koch (mission specialist), Victor Glover (pilot), and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist). Go, Canada!
The crew has been training for this mission for some time, with their voyage meant to “kick-start a new era of lunar exploration.”
I’m all for it. If the 20th century showed us anything, it’s that a healthy society advances. We are a country of builders, dreamers, and explorers, lest humanity become boring and stagnant.
My uncle and grandfather both worked for NASA, and a significant portion of my family has always lived in the Cape Canaveral area. Space exploration is something we were raised to admire.
My father was an engineer who helped design missiles and other military weaponry. I was never as smart as people like him, and I can’t imagine doing anything without a computer. The smart ones indisputably paved the way for our quality of life.
I’d love to go to space, and I promise I wouldn’t take a bunch of selfies like Katy Perry.
I would take a bunch of selfies.
Shawn McKee 
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