Artemis, Apollo, & NASA by Diane Burton

I've been seeing more references to the Artemis mission in the NASA newsletters and news releases. If you remember your high school Greek mythology or, better yet, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and Trials of Apollo series, you know that Artemis was Apollo's twin sister. In one version, Apollo rides his chariot (the sun) across the sky during the day, and Artemis rides hers (the moon) during the night. Artemis is also the goddess of the hunt. By the way, in Roman mythology her name is Diana.

The connection between NASA's Apollo missions--getting a man to the moon--and the Artemis mission, putting a woman on the moon, makes a lot of sense.

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the Artemis Program. As we get closer to the launch in 2024, we'll probably be reading and hearing more about this mission. Here's the identity for Artemis.

Earth blue, red rocket, and silver moon. The Artemis missions will explore the moon more thoroughly than before and pave the way to Mars. (Take a look at the red blob beyond the moon. Could that be Mars?) If you want to know more about the program, check out this link.

If you've read my past posts, you know I'm enthralled with space exploration. During the 1960s and 1970s, I avidly watched the missile launches on TV. Now, I can't wait to watch a new launch to the moon and beyond. Okay, smaller steps. From the moon to Mars . . . and then beyond. Can you tell I'm excited?

I write science fiction because I believe we will explore what is beyond our planet. It's our new frontier. It's our nature to explore the unknown. 

To quote Buzz Lightyear, "To Infinity and Beyond."