And now - Artemis

"The 2020's will see great strides in many different fields of science. But I think space travel will lead the pack. These will be exciting times - that is, if Russia and China don't blow everything up first. And then there is that..."

The sleeping giant might be waking up. Sleeping giant? Who is that? NASA. The government agency many of us love to hate. Or, maybe hate is too strong of a word. Let's just say - disappoint. Why, you might ask?

Back when this country was really bold, in the days of JFK during the 1960's, NASA did the almost impossible. We actually sent people up in space, using primitive capsules. We did that for the Mercury Program, the Gemini Program, and the Apollo Program. And other than the close call we had with Apollo 13, everyone we sent up in space - came home. 

For those of us who were alive in 1969, few can forget the Moon landing. Using little more than "spit and bubble gum", we managed to land on the Moon in July of 1969. And do it again in subsequent Apollo missions. Why was this so special? Back then, we "out drove our headlights" as far as technology is concerned. Most of us have heard we have more computing power in our cell phones, than the Apollo capsules had. These were brave flights, manned with  brave astronauts back then. It was NASA's heyday. Then after the Apollo Program finished - NASA went into a deep slumber.

One of the reasons for NASA's slumber is national will. In the 60's, we spent 4% of our budget on NASA. Now we spend about .5%. Meanwhile, China is going to town in their space program. If not for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, I am afraid NASA would still be snoozing. But seeing SpaceX and Blue Origin doing what NASA used (or ought to do), was enough to wake NASA up. So much so, next week we will launch our first rocket of the Artemis Program.

Okay. Maybe NASA is not quite as bold as they once were. Instead of launching a capsule with four people in it, they will be using four mannequins instead. They will head for the Moon, circle a few times, and then come home. I would imagine that Musk would look at this and shake his head. If it were up to him, I would think Musk would have asked for volunteers from this SpaceX Program to take this first step. To put humans in the capsule for this adventure. For NASA however, we need to wait until next year sometime, to use actual humans. 

Here is my issue with the still timid NASA. Hello? We have done this before. Many times. Launching a capsule to the Moon should be old hat. And now, compared to the Apollo days, we have great technology. But no. NASA is too concerned about "wokeness". They announced that some of the upcoming Artemis flights will have the first person of color, and the first woman going to the Moon. Most of us normals out here, are not concerned with race or sex. They are just Americans - all of them. Let's just get the show on the road for crying in the beer!

As NASA continues to plod along, Musk has his eyes on the Moon (for a forward operating base to be used for Mars missions), and of course - Mars. While NASA continues to play sleepy checkers, Musk is on to three dimensional chess.

The 2020's will see great strides in many different fields of science. But I think space travel will lead the pack. These will be exciting times - that is, if Russia and China don't blow everything up first. And then there is that...