The Moon is Going to Start to Look Different

I'm writing this just three days before NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will announce which astronauts will fly to the Moon on Artemis II.

Planned for late 2024, three Americans and one Canadian will be launched on the SLS rocket, fly around the Moon in the Orion capsule, and splash back to Earth 10 days later.

The Moon is going to start to look different.

 

50 Years

I've always been slightly jealous that my parents were alive during the Apollo era. What must it have been like to be there, in person, to witness Apollo 8's first orbit around the Moon? Apollo 11's first steps on the surface?

Then, to walk outside, look up at the Moon and let the idea sink in: There are humans there. How can that be?

The last time humans walked or orbited around the Moon was in December 1972. That's now over 50 years ago.

Nobody under the age of 50 has ever had that moment to look up at the Moon and think that thought. For every four people alive, three of them haven't witnessed that.

Celestial Tight-Rope Walkers

In the film 'Man on Wire', tight-rope walker Philippe Petit walks between the Twin Towers in 1974. The photos of him performing this are incredible.

But there's a photo from the film that strikes me: a canted angle shot of people looking up at the Twin Towers as he walks across. 

How could they not forget that moment? And how could they ever walk past the towers again without thinking of that moment?

How will we look up at the Moon knowing there's celestial tight-rope walkers upon it?

The Moon is going to start to look different.