Great Oak Gazette

Isabella Fields ’28

For the first time in fifty years, humans have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit. On April 1, NASA’s Artemis II mission, carrying a groundbreaking crew, launched into space. The journey lasted nine days, one hour, and thirty‑two minutes. Artemis II’s mission was a crewed lunar flyby. The spacecraft, Orion Integrity, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, first circling Earth before beginning its path toward the Moon. Once in deep space, Orion’s trajectory relied on Earth’s gravity to pull it outward, while the Moon’s gravitational field drew it around the far side. Finally, the spacecraft slingshotted back toward Earth and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, roughly seventy miles from Temecula. Residents of Southern California were even able to witness the return live.

This bold team of four included the first woman and first person of color ever to travel to the Moon. Commanding the mission was Reid Wiseman, joined by pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Together, they formed the most diverse deep‑space crew in history.

The new lunar program’s name continues a proud tradition. All the earlier missions were called Apollo after the Greek god. NASA chose to name its successor after Apollo’s twin sister, Artemis—the goddess of the Moon—symbolically linking the legacy of the past with the promise of future lunar exploration.

The significance of Artemis II extends far beyond its nine‑day journey. It lays the foundation for Artemis III, slated for 2027, and Artemis IV, expected in 2028. Artemis III will be another crewed Earth‑orbit flight designed to test equipment and prepare for the first Artemis lunar landing. Artemis IV, meanwhile, looks even further ahead: not simply repeating Apollo’s mission, but expanding its goals. This mission will send the first woman and the first person of color to step on the lunar surface and will explore the Moon’s South Pole. As NASA explains, “The Artemis flight marks a key step toward a long‑term return to the Moon—and future missions to Mars.” It also sets a precedent for how diverse our astronaut teams can and should be.

When Artemis IV becomes a reality, history will once again be made. The woman chosen for that mission is already slated to be the first to walk on the lunar surface. It will truly be “one small step for a woman, one giant leap for humankind.”