From Apollo to Artemis
Dírbheathaisnéis 16- ag imeacht ón Tréad
On July 21, 1969, early in the morning, Dad and I sat watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon. I do not remember if anyone else was with us. I was twelve years old and spellbound by the sight on television. It did not seem possible that such a thing could happen at all, yet there it was before us, taking place in our living room on the black-and-white television. When Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, Michael Collins remained in orbit in the command module. All of them were white American men.
Now, many long years later, another American mission has carried astronauts back toward the moon. Artemis II has gone around the far side of the moon and is on its way home as I write this. As I watch this mission, I feel a little of the same wonder that Apollo awakened in me.
Apollo 11 belonged to the Cold War. At that time, the space race was bound up with national pride and rivalry between the great powers. Artemis II belongs to another age. This mission is an international collaboration. Diversity can be seen in the astronaut crew: a woman, Christina Koch, a man of color, Victor Glover, and a Canadian, Jeremy Hansen, along with the American Reid Wiseman.
What struck me most as I thought about these two missions was the length of time between them. In a way, much of my own life is measured between them. When Apollo 11 landed, I had not yet started secondary school. Now I am retired after a full working life as an engineer. By the time people return to the moon again under Artemis IV in 2028, nearly sixty years will have passed between those landings.
Back on Earth, some things have changed enormously. At the same time, much less has changed in other things. The digital world has changed beyond recognition. We have moved from a black-and-white television in one room of the house to a world of internet, mobile phones, instant video, livestreams, and now artificial intelligence, another development that would not have been easy to imagine in 1969. We saw Apollo 11 through television and radio. But Artemis II is always available to us on our phones and screens whenever we want to watch it.
Although digital technology has advanced at blazing speed, the same cannot be said of rocket propulsion. The SLS rocket used for Artemis II produces only 15 percent more thrust than Apollo 11’s Saturn V rocket. That is progress, certainly, but it is not a revolution. Artemis II is more modern, safer, and more sophisticated, but in physical terms it is still doing the same thing Apollo 11 did more than half a century ago.
We too have changed as a society, because the same bond no longer exists between us as we watch this astonishing achievement. We all watched Apollo 11 at the same time, and there was a feeling that the whole world was part of it. We felt closer to one another through that shared experience. Everything about Artemis II is available to us now, anywhere, anytime, on our mobile phones. But the shared public moment is much weaker now. Although we are more connected to information through technology, we are more separated from one another socially. We watch the mission in clips, often alone, and on our own schedules, because too many other things are drawing our attention away.
Although we have made enormous progress in technology since 1969, it cannot be said that we have moved forward in the same way in matters of peace for humanity. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq came and went, carrying a terrible human cost. The war in Gaza has left dreadful destruction and loss of life. Ukraine remains under attack. At present, the conflict with Iran is under way, and fighting words have been heard from President Trump about destruction on a vast scale. A two-week ceasefire is now in place, but no one knows what will happen tomorrow.
Along with everything else, there is climate change, another threat growing before us. Those dangers were not so clear in 1969, but now everyone knows what is at stake, and weather conditions are worsening every year. Although Artemis II shines as a beacon of hope, grave dangers remain, including wars, authoritarian governments, and climate change.
Perhaps, however, that is precisely why this mission matters so much. It reminds us that people are still capable of realising dreams and doing good deeds. I think again of that boy sitting with his father in the middle of the night, staring at the black-and-white screen, spellbound. He could not have imagined the world that was to come. And perhaps we cannot fully imagine the world ahead of us either.
If there is anything to be learned from Artemis II, it is this: there is no strength without unity. And although we have failed again and again, we must still keep pushing forward toward a better world. We have no other choice.
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