A Reflection on the Return to the Moon by RJ Writing Ink
Wednesday, April 1st, 2026, 6:35 PM EST. I was in the lobby of a Cinemark theater a few counties over from where I lived, having just gotten out of seeing The Super Mario Galaxy Movie while wearing a Mario costume. My eyes were fixed on the screen of my smartphone on the livestream taking place. As i, a friend of mine, and millions of people around the world watched the final countdown come to an end, Artemis II lifted off its launchpad into the evening sky of Florida. Its destination was a place that humans had not visited for more than half a century. A place that, all things considered, we never should have stopped visiting: our Moon.
Everyone in America knows the story of the Apollo Program. And despite how some people believe it to be a hoax, it was all true. From 1968 to 1972, America did send human beings to the Moon. Nine times we sent people to our celestial neighbor, and on six of those times, people walked on its alien surface, collecting rocks and dust, doing research, and even playing a quick round of golf. But then, we stopped. Entire generations grew up reading about one of the greatest achievements in human history, but never got to see it for themselves. But that has now changed. Over the next 9 days, people around the world watched as Artemis II brought us back to the Moon for the first time in half a century, and now that the mission is over, it still feels so surreal to think about. Which is why I, RJ Writing Ink, had to get all my feelings out with the power of the printed word. I know The Game of Nerds covers pop culture, but Artemis II was just too big to not talk about!
I Want to go to Space
I want to go to space. For as long as I can remember, that has been the single greatest goal in my entire life. I want to go to outer space, to travel to the Moon, and set foot on Mars one day. I’m sure plenty of little kids who grew up reading about Project Apollo and seeing the Space Shuttles launch wanted to do the same thing. But then, as I got older, I realized that I might not have been suited for the finer aspects of space travel. Math frustrated me to no end, engineering could be too complex for me, and I wasn’t that interested in more complex sciences. But despite that, I’ve never truly given up on my dream of making it to space. Instead, I decided to wait for the day when regular civilians could make the trip, knowing it was only a matter of time before that happened.
There was just one problem, and it became apparent as I grew up: space travel had gotten lame.
I don’t want to disparage NASA or other space agencies, as what they’ve done is impressive. We built and launched the most powerful telescopes thus far. We’ve constructed space stations that could serve as wonders of the world. And we’ve sent robotic probes to almost every corner of the Solar System and beyond. The problem is that we never went there for ourselves, in person. I’m not sure when it was I learned it, but I read an article that claimed that if we had kept going to the Moon beyond 1972, we could have made it to Mars by now. All those sci-fi stories and games where space travel had become far more common and where we had colonies on the Moon? All of that could have already happened by now. And if you Google the question today, a lot of people will say the same thing.
Saying that this revelation had completely shocked me would be an understatement. I was completely blown away by it. I had spent my entire life wanting to go to space, and now I realized that it was well within our power to built cities on the Moon. I could be living and working on there like it’s no big deal, even if it would be. And with realization, I developed a deep resentment for the last fifty years of space travel. I understand that the Space Shuttles helped us make plenty of scientific breakthroughs, but between the cost and the fact that we lost two of them, I saw the whole thing as a waste of time. Even worse, I saw it as a sign of stagnation, not just for America, but for all mankind. It was time to fix that.
And so, that brings us back to the present day, with Artemis II and the crew of the Integrity carrying the hopes of mankind.
A Surreal Moment for a Generation
If I could best describe what I was feeling as I watched the NASA livestream of the launch of Artemis II, I would use one word: surreal. I had spent years reading about NASA’s exploits in the 60s. I had watched plenty of documentaries about how the Americans and Soviets kept pushing further into space at great risk. But all of it had taken place when my parents were still kids; never in my lifetime, or the lifetime of any of my peers! So getting to watch as the SLS rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, I couldn’t help but feel awed by what was happening. We were finally going back to the Moon! And, in my opinion, it was about time we did so!
Given how we live in the age of social media, it came as no surprise that over the duration of the mission, Artemis II was a hot topic, with all the memes and viral moments that come with it. Within hours of liftoff, we already had our first big moment. Passengers on a commercial jet had had the insanely good luck of flying near Cape Canaveral right as the rocket launched. As a result, someone managed to record a video of it soaring past their window, and it rightfully went viral. And that, of course, was only just the start of what would become a trip filled with unforgettable moments.
Say what you want about the problems of social media, but I think that it’s moments of great historical importance that I think justify its existence. For the first time ever, audiences had a better look at a trip to the Moon than what was ever possible with Apollo, and the movers and shakers of the Internet were quick to help promote it. Remember that moment when that jar of Nutella floated into view? Immediately afterwards, Nutella put out an ad to capitalize on this boost in popularity. Now, whenever anyone buys Nutella for the next few months, they’re going to think of Artemis II.
Rise is Adorable!
And then we have Rise, the mission mascot. Months ago, NASA put out a challenge for someone to come up with a ZGI, or zero-g indicator. This little plushie’s job was to let the crew know when they had reached zero gravity, while also carrying a memory card with the names of millions of people to be brought around the Moon (which I think I was one). The winning design came from Lucas Ye, an 8-year-old kid from California, and consisted of an adorable Moon wearing a hat with the brim covered in stars and the lid representing the Earth. It was a tribute to Earthrise, the legendary photograph taken by the crew of Apollo 8, the first mission to reach the Moon. I fell in love with Rise; I think the idea was good for morale. And if NASA doesn’t make little plushies of him for the public, they’re missing out on a good PR opportunity.
Ultimately, I think that social media was put to good use throughout Artemis II’s mission. It helped the public take part in the mission on a level that wasn’t possible in the Apollo days. More importantly, the sheer number of people watching events unfold shows just how invested people are in the return to the Moon. I’d go so far as to say that we never lost interest in traveling there, if this tells us anything. Which is good, because the space program will need that.
And then comes the moment we had all waited for: the lunar flyby.
Flyby
When we first went to the Moon back in 1968, NASA did so with the goal of orbiting around it. Like any mission, it was a test for our eventual landing on the lunar surface, and Apollo 8 passed with flying colors. However, Artemis II would follow a different flight plan. Their goal was to intercept the Moon before slingshotting back towards Earth. And around 12:30 on April 6th, 2026, NASA started its livestream as the Integrity began its approach to the Moon.
As for the crew of Integrity, their wake-up call for the day was very fitting, as it included a message from the late Jim Lovell. In life, he’s best known as the commander of Apollo 13, the successful failure that was immortalized in the 1995 Ron Howard film. However, he was also part of the crew of Apollo 8, meaning that Artemis II would be attempting to repeat what he, Frank Borman, and Bill Anders did almost 60 years ago. On a more significant note, Artemis II would break the record Apollo 13 unintentionally set, becoming the furthest that any human being has ever traveled away from Earth.
I was at work at the time that the livestream began, but I got off in time to see Artemis II begin its final approach to the Moon. Around an hour before they reached the closest to the Moon, I saw them break Apollo 13’s record, becoming the furthest we’ve ever gone from Earth. I saw as the crew did initial observations of the dark side of the Moon, and yes, I think naming one of the craters after Reid Wiseman’s late wife was super sweet. After that came the blackout, leaving the crew utterly alone. And once we got contact back, we waited for the photos to start coming in.
By this point in time, Artemis II had already given us some incredible photographs, both on mission cameras and on the astronauts’ personal cell phones. Commander Wiseman had already given us a sequel to the famous photo of Earth from Apollo 17, but that was nothing compared to what we got next: Earthset and the Eclipse.
Earthset
I think almost everyone alive has seen the photo Earthrise at least once in their lives. That legendary photo was taken by Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve, 1968. And then the crew started reading from the Book of Genesis. There’s only one word that I think could be used to describe this moment: a miracle. And it was one that the entire world needed. 1968 had been an absolutely terrible year, filled with assassinations, civil strife, and all sorts of hardships that tested the optimism of the decade. To put it simply, seeing that view of our home, the one that we all share, was something that we needed.
Fast forward to the present day, and life feels just as filled with strife as ever. Wars, protests, and hardships faced by everyone. And seeing all of these incredible photos of Earth, the Moon, and the stars, on Easter Monday, no less. I don’t know if it’s chance or by fate, but to see all those photographs and videos of the flyby around the Moon, and the biggest solar eclipse ever seen? I feel like all of this was meant to happen. And it just made me go back and watch the footage of Apollo 8, and I just came so close to crying, knowing that we were really doing this again. And just how right it felt to be doing it again.
And then came the final leg of the journey, and the most dangerous part: the re-entry.
Welcome Home
When I was a kid, I watched a documentary on the space race on the History Channel. When it got to the part about John Glenn, it gave us a visual look of what would have happened had the heat shield on his ship hadn’t worked: he would’ve been grid human. And then in 2003, I saw the footage of the Columbia disaster and how that exact thing had happened. Those seven people on board that shuttle all died from being burned alive by the intense heat of re-entry. And then came the news about how the heat shield for the unmanned Artemis I had cracked, and that had people worried. NASA had said that they fixed it, but the worst mistake we can make about space travel is expecting it to be routine and for everything to go right.
So, with bated breath, I watched the final stages of the mission on NASA’s livestream alongside millions around the world as he saw the ship re-enter the atmosphere. But not before we got one last incredible photo of the Earth from space. And thankfully, the re-entry was successful. Integrity landed where it was supposed to off the coast of California. The ships and crew were there to pick the astronauts up. Perfect ending, all around. But it’s really only the beginning.
In the days that will follow, the crew of Artemis II will get the heroes welcome. There will be press events, interviews, maybe a parade or two as everyone gives them a big congratulations for bringing us back to the Moon. But once that is done, everyone will be back to work. And there will be a lot of work.
Don’t mess it up this time, NASA
Like the early Apollo missions, Artemis II is only a dress rehearsal for what comes next. In 2027, Artemis III will go up, this time to test the vehicles we’ll be using to land on the Moon. Then in 2028, God willing, we’ll be landing on the Moon again for the first time in decades. And that will only be the start.
It’s no secret that when we go back to the Moon, this, mankind aims to stay there. We’re going to do all of the things that we should have done half a century ago. We’ll build lunar bases, conduct research and exploration, and sooner or later, we’ll start hauling in the equipment we’ll need to start extracting the rich resources on the Moon. Resources, that I might add, could help the global economy and further the technology needed to make everyone’s lives better. And eventually, we might see lunar settlements start to form as flights between the Earth and Moon become faster and safer. Which means that within my lifetime, it might be possible for civilians to take a trip to the Moon like we would a vacation or for work.
All of this might sound crazy or impossible, but that is kind of the point to it. Nothing about going to the Moon is meant to be sane or easy. But we should do it anyway so we can keep pushing ourselves as a species. I know some people will see it as too expensive or not worth the risk, but I personally think that the bigger risk is to let us be stuck on Earth forever. I won’t sugar-coat it: I don’t think Earth can handle mankind forever. We either need to find better ways to live in harmony with the Earth, or we need to start spreading out across the stars. Build the interstellar civilization that, until now, we’ve had to read about in books and watch on TV and movies. In other words, we need to make sure that this time, things will be different. This time, we will not rest on our laurels and keep pushing out into the Solar System. And that means making sure there are no budget cuts!
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s keep the fire burning. Keep the events of Artemis II in people’s minds. Let’s make sure that when we say we’re going to stay on the Moon, we meant it! Because now that I have seen the dream reborn, I will be darned if I let it die again!
