Radha is a freshman in college, when Artemis III launches to put people on the moon again she will be in her first or second year of graduate school. She was not aware of NASA’s plans. But if it were on the news or taught in school, then more people would be aware of it.
Julian thought NASA’s plans to land on the moon were neat, but he had not heard of them before. And he thinks we should solve problems on earth before exploring space. The two problems we talked about were the environment and poverty. Electric cars need to displace gas cars. And we should work on putting solar panels on our houses before looking into space based solar power. He is most excited by solving problems that he can see the benefits of solving. For example, teachers spend much time looking for an eraser for the marker board, he has an idea for a solution. Also, getting tape off of a spool of tape is a pain. He is working on a solution to that too. In 2024, Julian will be a freshman in college. And he doesn’t plan to go wild when people are on the moon.
Julian has his own YouTube channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvsRDQh2QoETeOH6hBJGNDA
Talked to Akash about the 2024 Artemis moon landing that NASA is planning. He had not heard about it before. Akash has some questions about the opportunity cost of a human moon landing. Could that money be used to solve more pressing problems on earth? We explored this a little and discussed the benefits we should get from improving our perspective. When those astronauts look back at earth and see something that is small, fragile, limited and yet extremely special, we will have a truer view of our place in the cosmos. Also what are humanity’s cognitive blind spots that might be addressed by having humans living in very different conditions than on earth. Where will Akash be in 2024 when the moon landings are happening? Celebrating this achievement with the rest of us.
The Artemis Program will land the first woman and the next man on the moon by the end of 2024. Each day I plan to talk to a different person about the moon landing. What do they know? What do they think about it? What gets them excited? My first interview is with Pooja Bhatia, my niece, who is visiting for the holidays. She was not aware of the program, but she is excited and glad it is happening.