A Step Out of This World Towards Another Milestone

By Elysia Reyes

It was on July 20, 1969, when two American astronauts set off to accomplish a feat that
had never been done before. Millions of people gathered around their televisions to witness
Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin be the first humans to set foot on the moon, walking
there while donning cumbersome space suits and oxygen-filled backpacks. 

“That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” uttered Armstrong after
stepping foot onto the lunar surface followed by Aldrin, who described the spectacular terrain
as a “magnificent desolation.”

This Apollo mission paved the way for future lunar exploration. As engineers continued
to develop more advanced technologies, they opened the doors for others to explore space
travel. This historical event inspired scientists to carry out more space exploration and sparked
the search for ways to do the impossible to this day.

That said, NASA announced its intention to return to the moon last April 2022 through
the Artemis program, sending astronaut Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman to conduct a
long-duration space flight, along with three other SpaceX Crew-4 team members. NASA intends
to land them while surveying more of the lunar surface than ever before to take the next giant
leap forward.

“This is certainly an important milestone, both for our agency and the country,” says
Watkins in an interview with New Station. She also adds, “And I think it’s just a tribute to the
legacy of the Black women astronauts that have come before me, as well as the exciting future
ahead.”

Isn't it incredible to be alive at such a time, witnessing history being made? This
particular moon landing mission is also special and significant not only because of the people
involved in it but also for the opportunity it holds for another futuristic development for
humanity. In the past, we learned about the moon's composition from the moon landing. It
provided us with the first view of the Earth from space. Overall, if scientists had not continued
their exploration of space, we might not have today's abundance of technologies.

Now in their recent lunar mission, what further life-changing discoveries could they
possibly find? Well, whatever it may be, one thing is for sure. None of this will be easy, but the
effort will be worthwhile because of it. 

Ultimately, technology developed for Artemis will undoubtedly have a secondary use on
Earth. And the mission architecture itself—all technology that enables sustainable operations of
sending astronauts to and from the lunar surface—is a test bed for humanity's next major
advancement—sending astronauts to Mars.