Wednesday's launch is the real test — first crewed lunar mission since your parents were kids. If it works, we're back in the moon game for good this time. Not just flags and footprints, but bases and business.
The gap makes sense when you see the economics. Apollo cost billions with no ROI once the Cold War flex was complete. Artemis has a different goal: permanent presence, resource extraction, and beating China to strategic sites. The moon's now a geopolitical asset.
Artemis II crew: 4 astronauts, 10 days, 330 cubic feet of space (two minivans worth). Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen will orbit the moon without landing. If successful, humans return to the surface in 2028.
Now it's a race with China. Beijing's targeting 2030 for their first crewed lunar landing, complete with rovers already on the surface. Artemis isn't just about exploration — it's about securing lunar real estate and establishing a permanent American moon base.
Last boots on the moon: Dec 19, 1972. Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt closed out the program. NASA had planned 9 missions total but cancelled 3. Once the space race was won, public interest tanked and funding dried up. No reason to keep going.
The Apollo shutdown was pure politics. After Apollo 12 in Nov 1969, Nixon's aide told NASA the president "doesn't have enough money" and had to accept "limitation of activity." NASA's budget got slashed 15% to $3.3B. The near-fatal Apollo 13 disaster sealed the deal.
NASA's heading back to the moon THIS WEEK after a 54-year gap — Artemis II launches April 1st with four astronauts doing a 10-day lunar flyby. The kicker? America abandoned the moon in 1972 not because of science, but because Nixon's budget office said "we're broke."
7/7 🧵
Wednesday's launch is the real test — first crewed lunar mission since your parents were kids. If it works, we're back in the moon game for good this time. Not just flags and footprints, but bases and business.
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6/7 🧵
The gap makes sense when you see the economics. Apollo cost billions with no ROI once the Cold War flex was complete. Artemis has a different goal: permanent presence, resource extraction, and beating China to strategic sites. The moon's now a geopolitical asset.
5/7 🧵
Artemis II crew: 4 astronauts, 10 days, 330 cubic feet of space (two minivans worth). Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen will orbit the moon without landing. If successful, humans return to the surface in 2028.
4/7 🧵
Now it's a race with China. Beijing's targeting 2030 for their first crewed lunar landing, complete with rovers already on the surface. Artemis isn't just about exploration — it's about securing lunar real estate and establishing a permanent American moon base.
3/7 🧵
Last boots on the moon: Dec 19, 1972. Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt closed out the program. NASA had planned 9 missions total but cancelled 3. Once the space race was won, public interest tanked and funding dried up. No reason to keep going.
2/7 🧵
The Apollo shutdown was pure politics. After Apollo 12 in Nov 1969, Nixon's aide told NASA the president "doesn't have enough money" and had to accept "limitation of activity." NASA's budget got slashed 15% to $3.3B. The near-fatal Apollo 13 disaster sealed the deal.
1/7 🧵
NASA's heading back to the moon THIS WEEK after a 54-year gap — Artemis II launches April 1st with four astronauts doing a 10-day lunar flyby. The kicker? America abandoned the moon in 1972 not because of science, but because Nixon's budget office said "we're broke."