[Lurch]

I was up early today to see the (hopefully) launch of the Artemis rocket. I watched it live on my laptop. Well it finally DID launch and it was a great feeling knowing that people will once again walk on the moon. That is supposed to happen with the 2nd launch. This one was a test run of all the systems and to be sure its a safe mission. It was a nighttime launch around 4 or 5am this morning. In the Apollo series there was just one night launch and that was the final mission Apollo 17. I hope this series of launches and missions are successful. ALL of the Saturn 5 rockets launched and flew successfully. If great care and safety for Artemis are done right, it also should go flawlessly every launch.

In the movie Apollo 13, Tom Hanks said, ":when will we be going back, and who will that be?" Well now the time has come with all new equipment, technology and Astronauts. I wish them all well and great success. Also I didn't know this until today that in Greek mythology, Artemis was the sister of Apollo.

And to all the naysayers out there who thought/think the original moon landings were a hoax, go on youtube and watch the high res satellite LRO that flew over the moon recently. Its cameras show the landing sites AND the lower halves, (descent stages), of the LEM's and the Lunar Rover's and scientific equipment left there from the Apollo missions. The proof is there that those missions were NO hoax.

To all the future astronauts going to the moon, I say Godspeed and may they all return safely to Earth.

[MasterM]

The launch was quite something, really enjoyed watching the videos of it. I really had my doubts whether the SLS rocket would ever get launched, but it was nice to see it fly

[Yato]

Yeah, it was supposed to launched before then, but it was delayed due to Hurricane Nicole heading in their direction.

All in all, it was awesome to see Artemis blasted off and I hope their journey will be a good experience.

[Lurch]

I forgot to mention that the Saturn 5 is no longer the tallest and most powerful rocket to fly. That now belongs to Artemis. Its about 20 feet taller than the Saturn 5 and produces over 8 million pounds of lift off thrust compared to the Saturn 5 that stands at 363 feet tall and produces 7.5 million pounds of thrust. Also the Apollo missions command module carried just 3 people in it. Artemis will have 4 people aboard.

In the 60's and early 70's the nation was in some bad times. The Vietnam war, segregation, and political problems, among other things. But the NASA missions were a shining light during that time. The one positive thing that people were tuned into. It was also the time I watched with amazement the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions building up to the first moon landing. And it was in my time or generation. Oh yes NASA had problems technically and a few good people died in their attempts, but they persevered and continued striving and moving forward to achieve what President Kennedy had hoped to accomplish. and no other country did what we did.....putting people on the moon. Oh the Russians tried and failed.

I also enjoyed many of the Space Shuttle missions. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the Apollo 1 capsule fire that 3 men died in, and all the people lost in the disatrous Shuttle missions.

Now with the help of other nations, we have the International Space Station and they also contribute their knowledge to the Artemis program. I wish them all the best. And the adventure continues......

[Uncle Ben]

This is the most exciting time in space exploration since the Apollo era!

SLS is the first of two modern rocket systems that will be bigger and more powerful than the Saturn-V.

SpaceX's Starship, the second system, is tentatively scheduled for an orbital launch in early 2023. Human missions in space are finally moving beyond LEO and out into the system!

For all of its faults, the Lunar Gateway orbital station is a huge leap forward in establishing a permanent human presence in the Solar System. We know we'll learn from it, but the most exciting part is all of the stuff we don't know we'll learn yet!

ISS is, unfortunately, nearing the end of its service life and will need a major international refurbishment effort to last beyond 2030. There are some concepts to park it in a higher orbit to avoid suffering the same fate as Skylab, but it's currently scheduled to be deorbited into the Pacific Ocean some time in 2031.

For now, the next few decades of humans in Earth orbit are set to be dominated by commercial stations. Lunar Gateway and future surface stations on the Moon seem to be the way forward for state-run manned space programs.

The US intends to put boots on Luna by 2024, and both the US and China plan to build a permanent base on the Moon by 2028. Not only are humans going back, we're going back to stay!

If shaved apes in space don't do it for you, there's plenty to be excited about in the world of robotic exploration. Unmanned missions don't get as much love as Neil Armstrong or the Shuttle, but they're the unsung heroes of space science (and have the coolest mission concepts!).

Currently we have:

• Ingenuity - A helicopter on Mars! (current)
• James Webb Telescope - The most powerful telescope ever built by humanity! (current)
• Nancy Grace Roman Telescope - A telescope to take the first direct images of exoplanets! (2027)
• Mars Sample Return - A planned first rocket launch from another planet! (2028)
• JUICE - The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission! (2031)
• Dragonfly - A planned helicopter on Saturn's moon Titan! (2034)

Even if we don't get beyond the Moon in our lifetime, there's plenty to look forward to in the future of spaceflight!

Artemis is just like Neil said -- "One small step!"