Back to the Moon

Artemis II launched on April 1st.  No joke!  As of now, it is halfway to the moon.  It will flyby the moon and come back to earth.  This is a watered-down repeat of Apollo 8, which saw Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders circle the moon in Christmas 1968.  While the Artemis will just slingshot around the moon and come straight back, Apollo 8 went into orbit around the moon.  However, Artemis will go farther from earth than any craft has ever gone.

This mission is long overdue.  Had NASA pulled it off on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8, all of the named astronauts were still around.  All have since died in their 90s.  Perhaps Jared Isaacman, the new NASA Administrator, will turn the moribund agency around.  He has been to space twice, both times with SpaceX.  Let's hope he brings some of that energy and innovation into NASA.