Why is NASA bothering to go back to the Moon if we’ve already been there?

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.—The first time NASA launched humans toward the Moon, in December 1968, the United States was a deeply fractured nation.

The historic flight of three people into the unknown brought a measure of solace to a country riven by assassinations, riots, political discord, and a deeply unpopular foreign war.

If history does not repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. Today, four humans are on the way to the Moon, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. They do so, once again, amid a troubled world.

Will Artemis II have a similar impact? Does it even matter?

Artemis II was not a global event

The world of today is, of course, incredibly different from that of the 1960s, especially the landscape of media competing for public attention. Just three US television networks graced the airwaves then, compared to hundreds today and a bazillion more online through ...