There’s something quietly extraordinary happening right now.

Humans are once again on their way to the Moon.

Not in a movie. Not in a simulation. Not buried in a comment thread somewhere between “fake” and “flat”, but in an actual spacecraft, currently tens of thousands of miles from Earth, doing exactly what physics says it should be doing.

I’ve been watching the Artemis mission closely — as a NASA virtual guest (plus one included 😄) — and as a long-time member of The Planetary Society, an organisation that has spent decades advocating for exactly this moment.

And the thing that strikes me most is not the spectacle…

It’s the calm.

No drama. No panic. Just:

“All systems nominal.”

That’s how real engineering looks.

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A quick reality check

Back in 1968, Apollo 8 sent humans around the Moon using:

• A computer with less memory than a digital watch
• Navigation done by sighting stars through a sextant
• Software literally woven by hand

Today, Artemis uses modern avionics, real-time telemetry, and deep space communication networks.

Different tools.

Same outcome:

👉 We go to the Moon.

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“But what about…?”

Ah yes — the inevitable internet commentary.

To believe the Moon landings didn’t happen (or that we somehow “can’t” go back), you have to ignore:

• The Apollo Guidance Computer — physically restored and running
• The Saturn V rocket — standing in full scale, explained by engineers who worked on it
• Decades of telemetry, independent tracking, and consistent engineering evidence
• The fact that thousands of people, across multiple organisations, would have had to keep the same secret… perfectly… for over 50 years

At some point, it becomes less about evidence…

…and more about imagination.

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The thumb test

Astronaut Jim Lovell once held up his thumb and realised it could block out Earth.

That tiny blue dot — everything we’ve ever known — reduced to something you could hide behind your hand.

Artemis is heading back into that perspective.

And when we get our first modern “Earthrise,” I suspect it will do what it did in 1968:

Quiet the noise.

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Why this moment matters

For many of us, this isn’t just a launch.

It’s a continuation.

From Apollo…

through decades of advocacy, science, and persistence…

to Artemis.

The idea never went away.

It just took time to come back.

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Final thought

Rockets don’t care what we believe.

They either work…

or they don’t.

And right now, Artemis is working beautifully.

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So here’s to the engineers, the astronauts, and yes — even the sceptics.

Because whether you’re watching in awe or arguing in the comments…

We’re going back to the Moon.

And this time, we’re doing it with the whole world watching.