Houston, we have a problem. The Artemis II spaceship has officially landed back on Earth on April 10th, but it seems as if students aren’t as interested in space missions as they used to be.
Artemis II took off on April 1, 2026. Aboard the ship was Reid Wiseman, the commander; Victor Glover, the pilot; Christina Koch, the mission specialist; and Jeremy Hansen, who was also a mission specialist. The spacecraft orbited around Earth, then took a four day trip around the moon and returned back on April 10. This was the farthest trip anyone has ever taken from Earth.
This mission was crucial to progressing for future missions, due to the fact that they were able to go farther than anyone has from Earth, which is incredibly helpful for aiding future, farther missions. They also were able to test and fix other parts of the ship, such as the heat shield.
However, the question is: why do people – students and adults – not care as much about these space missions like they used to?
These space missions have become less and less popular as time goes on. Students know bits and pieces of the Artemis II mission, but no one has talked much about it over the duration of the trip.
“If they heard or saw anything about it then yes, they were interested, but most people didn’t even know it was happening,” said earth science teacher Mr. Pallogudis.
There has been a lot of feedback from students on their thoughts on this mission. Various students mentioned that they only followed the important things, like takeoff and landing. Others didn’t even know the trip was happening. There are many reasons why this trip wasn’t as interesting as some others in the past.
Many believe that this trip was somewhat unnecessary, and was taking away from more important topics going on around the world. It is important to keep in mind that as this mission was very important, it was not entirely necessary.
“There are a lot more issues that should be focused on currently, this seemed like a distraction to those issues,” said Luciano Alonzo, junior.
Numerous others have only heard of the mission through their parents or teachers. They have kept up with some of the important news, but overall they aren’t very familiar with the mission.
“I don’t know much about it, but I have been paying attention to the female astronaut,” said Joely Levin, junior.
On the other hand, some students were very involved and interested in the mission. For instance, in Mr. Fracchia’s astronomy class, students prepared and watched the mission together. He showed videos and watched Apollo 13 with his class to give them a good sense and get ready to watch the launch and the mission.
“The excitement was over the top in my class. I was surprised at the enthusiasm,” said Mr. Fracchia. “I think it gets students excited about science and following uplifting news. It’s something that brings us together.”
Space missions, especially ones like these, are crucial to helping our future and making new advancements. They may not always be the most important missions, and yes, there are some important topics going on that should be addressed, but these space missions are significant as well, and people should stay aware of the new scientific discoveries that can change the world.
