Mysterious Universe

When Artemis I mission sent an unmanned Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit in 2022, it successfully tested the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Fast forward to 2026, Artemis II launched a 10-day voyage around the moon aboard the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft called Integrity. This marked the farthest humans have ever been in space, with sightings of both the near and far side of the Moon in the same view, a rare space perspective. NASA has planned subsequent trips of Artemis III, IV and V for its future missions. 

The world applauded as the astronauts who flew in Artemis II landed on Earth. Images of the moon taken by the mission left viewers in awe. As the moon in full glory dominated the screens of viewers, people felt hopeful once again about space travel. The Artemis II was historic in that it achieved humanity’s first crewed venture to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. One may wonder about the decades-long gap but space exploration is both a very arduous activity as well as a highly costly one. Especially crewed rocket ships risk not just financial investments but also human lives, as space travel is still a precarious venture. 

Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s lofty space goals include colonisation of Mars and interplanetary travel. These are quite ambitious goals but the planet earth will not last for infinity which means space colonisation is one option, if an extremely far-fetched one. Musk’s SpaceX is working around the clock to test and launch rockets. Meanwhile, NASA has been working on Artemis missions as Integrity, the Orion spacecraft travelled about 407,000 kilometers setting a record for space travel. 

Since Galileo transformed telescopes in the 17th century, people have peered through the lens to glimpse the sights of planets, stars and satellites. Children grow up memorising the solar system. It is now a common knowledge that the planets revolve around the sun but in Galileo’s time people held the opposite view that the sun revolved around the earth. Thanks to Galileo’s supporting observations, the sun was understood to be the centre of the solar system. But it cost Galileo a lifetime of house arrest as his favour of Copernican heliocentrism struggled with vehement opposition by the Catholic Church. It is just another example of how religion and science have collided in human history. But ultimately science did prevail.

Space is a profound mystery that humans have barely scratched the surface of. It is said that there are as many or more planets in the universe as grains of sand on earth. Thus, the vastness of the universe is staggering. Yet despite the scientific advancements, little is known about it. Scientists believe in the existence of dark matter in space but cannot fully comprehend how it works. Some believe in multiple universes with theories swirling around that each universe has its own laws of physics. Today, thanks to the dedicated hard work of astronomers, physicists, etc. space is now seen through new angles and perspectives as proven by Artemis II.

Perhaps one day space travel will be quite common but that remains a dream confined to science fiction. However, humanity is nothing if not persevering as science could eventually overcome the obstacles against space travel.