Space stuff is cool. I remember being in third (I think) grade, back when schoolroom technology was printed on paper and called “books,” when our entire school crowded into the gymnasium/lunchroom while the principal wheeled in the one television in the building, so we could watch Neil Armstrong step off the Apollo 11 lander, in that famous giant leap for mankind. And bear in mind they went to the Moon with 1960s technology; imagine going into space in a 1966 Rambler, and you’ll have a pretty good idea.
We haven’t been back since 1972. But that’s changing. NASA’s Artemis II has cleared the Artemis II rocket for an April launch with four astronauts on board, to do a lunar fly-by.
NASA cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs.
The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years.
The Artemis II crew should have blasted off on a lunar flyaround earlier this year, but fuel leaks and other problems with the Space Launch System rocket interfered.
Although NASA managed to plug the hydrogen fuel leaks at the pad in February, a helium-flow issue forced the space agency to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, bumping the mission to April.
The space agency has only six days at the beginning of April to launch before standing down until April 30 into early May.
While landings and even a possible permanent base are in the tentative planning stages, this flight is just a loop around Luna and a return.
Read More: ‘New Glenn’ Rocket Nails It: Blue Origin Makes Mars Leap
Lunar Base 2027: NASA Boss Drops Explosive New Artemis Timeline
Here’s the thing: What took so long? We sent two men to the moon in 1969. We kept sending men up there until the Apollo program ended in 1972. I was 11 years old when the last manned moon mission was carried out. I’m 64 now. It was, literally, a lifetime ago. Now, this has given us half a century to poke our thumbs in the eyes of countries like China and Russia, when they claim some great technological breakthrough (which never seem to materialize) we can twit them with “Yeah, let us know when you land two dudes on the Moon and bring them home safe.”
Of course, there will be voices arguing that we shouldn’t spend money on this. I get it; I really do. But holy cow, we’re the United States of America. We’re the big guys. We do the hard things, and we do them first. Otherwise, what’s the point? So, yes, send people to the Moon. It’s a better use of taxpayer money than paying for transgender awareness teaching for schoolkids in Oman. For crying out loud, it’s been over half a century. Let’s make it happen.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have their eyes on the skies as well, with planned missions to the moon and Mars, although both are in the planning stages right now. And the great thing? They are privately funded.
It’s an interesting time to be a spaceflight fan.
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