The Artemis II space mission was extraordinary for many reasons, and not insignificantly so for the perspectives it gave us, writes Gretchen Crowe. Source: OSV News.
The team of four astronauts, inside a spaceship named “Integrity”, showed us views we’d never seen before.
We got new angles of the far side of the moon. We saw the moon eclipse the sun from the perspective of space — something Integrity crew member Victor Glover called going “sci-fi.”
We saw different views of the Milky Way galaxy, of stars and of planets. Earth was reduced to a crescent, the likes of which earthlings are only used to seeing during certain lunar phases.
Each perspective gave new scientific insights and new inspiration for further exploration.
We saw other perspectives, too — those from inside the Integrity. We saw four individuals solidify into one unit as they worked together constructively to complete their mission. We saw them support one another professionally and personally.
But we saw a further perspective from the team: one that seemed to feel the weight of the responsibility of history. Not just the history of NASA or space exploration, but the history of humanity itself.
Artemis II left Earth at one of the planet’s most precarious times in recent memory, with a new war raging and an uncertain future looming.
As Pope Leo XIV told members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in January, “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading.”
Throughout its mission, the Integrity crew’s gained perspective was reflected back to us: that humanity, with all the flaws that bespeak a fallen people, is fundamentally worth fighting for.
In a news conference following Integrity’s splashdown on April 10 and the safe return of the astronauts to Earth, NASA official Lori Glaze defined the Artemis II mission as “a mission for all humanity.”
From my own perspective, it was a mission that brought out the best in humanity. And I can only hope and pray that we take to heart its most fundamental lessons.
Gretchen Crowe is editor-in-chief of OSV News.
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Opinion: The Artemis II mission, and the perspectives we gained (By Gretchen Crowe, OSV News)
