Other Worlds, Here...on Earth

(April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks—formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater. — Earth Rise, April 6, 2026. Photo by NASA

I could be called out for some hypocrisy if I express any excitement about the Artemis II mission, as I've had my reservations about the necessity of spending trillions on an eventual Mars mission. But I have to admit that the engineering accomplishments and bravery of the people involved in this moon trip have taken over my brain during the last week.

Many of us are lamenting the loss of our familiar world to extremism, climate catastrophe, and, most relevant to this mission, contempt for knowledge. Knowledge born of hard work done by people still faithful to the principles of scientific discovery.

We find ourselves living on a different planet without ever having left Earth.

The Artemis II mission is large in my brain, not so much as a poetic tribute to our place in the universe but because it tells me there are (a lot) of humans who can still tell reality...from bullshit.