The crew of the Artemis II mission to the Moon
captivated and inspired a whole new generation
of scientists, engineers, astronauts,
explorers, artists, and storytellers
from the moment that they left the pull of Earth’s gravity
and they began their journey to our natural satellite
for the first time in over 50 years
and gave humanity the collective opportunity
to experience the return to somewhere we know,
to somewhere that has always been
a constant in our lives,
and somewhere that will one day become
humanity’s first interstellar outpost,
beacon, workplace, and home…
for ten days, we the people of Earth
stopped focusing on the chaos and the turmoil
of the conflicts being fought around the world
and we lifted our eyes and followed every step of the way
of the 685,000 mile round trip of a crew of four
sojourners as they traveled farther than
any humans have ever traveled before
and they got to witness the sights of
the dark side of the Moon
that we do not get to see here on Earth -
not to mention the sight of Earth rising
over the horizon of the Moon,
and a spectacular solar eclipse -
and they were able to share what they saw
with those of us back on Earth
in the form of photographs that will continue
to capture and captivate the imagination
of people for years to come…
NASA Commander Reid Wiseman,
NASA pilot Victor Glover,
NASA mission specialist Christina Koch,
and Canadian Space Agency astronaut
and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen
maintained almost continuous contact with Earth
for almost the entirety of their journey to the Moon,
and as they reached farther and farther away
from this lifeboat of a planet that we all call home
they gave us all so much insight and inspiration
about who they are and who we all are as a people;
because what that crew embodied
every moment of their mission
was what makes humanity so singular, so unique,
so special, and so extraordinary,
and what we can all achieve if we work together
and never give up on the power of our dreams
and our exceptional ability to make
leaps into the unknown for the betterment of all of humanity…
the mission of Artemis II and its phenomenal crew
will never be forgotten by those who watched them and followed the story of their space adventure
every step of the way and every hour of every day
by those who wanted them to do
what they set out to do:
to return humanity to the moon
and invite future generations of astronauts
to follow their example and one day
eclipse their accomplishments
and once again return humanity
to the surface of the Moon
and use it as a staging ground
for a future mission to the planet Mars…
the crew of Artemis II have now
successfully returned to Earth
and are now sharing their experiences
and their bond with one another with the entire world
as they attempt to put into words
how their mission and their journey
has changed them and their relationship
with Earth and all of humanity;
but one thing they should be sure about
is that to many of those of us who watched them,
and who listened intently to every word they said,
they are more than a team of astronauts;
they are more than a crew of voyagers;
they are the heart and the soul of what makes
humanity capable of doing extraordinary things;
and, in my opinion, what the crew of Artemis II
shared with us here on Earth was nothing short of poetry
and, to me, they are nothing short of poets.