The June issue of Scientific American carried several articles on the new “space race,” including a major article on the Artemis II mission and the effect it had on a divided America. Entitled “The New Moon Race” by Nadia Drake, it noted the unique character and comments of the astronauts who had just ventured to the far side of the Moon. “But these four astronauts,” she notes, “Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and mission specialist (and rookie Canadian astronaut) Jeremy Hansen—represent more than a superlative series of firsts. Through their unwavering focus on joy and unity, the Artemis II astronauts forged a path forward not only in space but arguably on Earth as well. ‘This mission was about the way back to the moon, but I think it was also a way back to ourselves, to a more perfect union—or our better angels, whatever metaphor you want to use,’ says Jordan Bimm, a space historian at the University of Chicago.”
The article goes on to note how Apollo 8, the first circumlunar mission, occurred in December 1968, in the midst of the Vietnam war and in a period of unprecedented racial tensions, with one person commenting to the astronauts at the time, “You saved 1968!” Now again a divided America is rent by social and political turmoil. This voyage was not close to Christmas, but to Easter, “another prominent day in the Christian calendar,” the writer notes. She then goes on to quote Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, who says, “Whether you celebrate [Easter] or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are and that we are the same thing, and that we gotta get through this together.”
The article also notes the moving story of how the Artemis astronauts decided to name a new crater, Carroll, after the recently deceased wife of commander, Reid Wiseman. It concludes with the comments by Christina Koch, who noted on her return that “we humans are the crew of spaceship Earth, an almost impossibly perfect oasis in the void of space. And we are in this together, just as surely as Earth and its moon are inextricably linked, locked in an endless celestial dance.”
