Text Neck Syndrome, the neck pain and structural damage experienced by children who consistently gaze downward toward their smartphones, has reached record breaking levels. Now, it isn’t rare to see children looking down, slumped over their screens.
However, on April 1st, the children were looking up.
It wasn’t an April Fools joke. On April 1, 2026, Artemis II successfully launched, effectively marking one of the most historic days of space exploration. As the spacecraft left the atmosphere, it carried more than the hopes and dreams of the future, but also the legacy of the past. For a split moment, Text Neck Syndrome was temporarily cured by wonder and curiosity. Inspiring Generation Alpha and Beta to once again dream of the stars, the mission served as historic proof that the impossible is and will continue to be just a starting point.
Here are my favorite highlights of the 10-day trip to the stars:
carrying the past: The Challenger and Columbia
“Uh oh.”
The last recorded words from the Challenger crew of 1986.
On January 28, 1986, spectators watched in horror as the space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. From that day forward, the tragedy was engraved into the minds of fellow Americans, as they watched the loss of seven crew members in real time.
Now, Artemis II stands as a testament and as proof of the lessons learned from past tragedies. To ensure and improve the ultimate safety of the Artemis crew, the launch had been delayed numerous times in preparation. With NASA leadership prioritizing technical integrity over a schedule, Artemis II honored the lives lost aboard the Challenger and Columbia.
By deconstructing past reports of failures, NASA engineers developed and improved safety systems for future flight. There were even symbolic tributes onboard the craft with rumors suggesting that small fragments of both space shuttles may have been carried on onboard. Either way, the ultimate lessons from the past paved a safer path for the future, establishing a new baseline. The lessons learned from both tragedies improved safety systems for the Artemis crew, ultimately passing the torch to a new era of lunar exploration.
Rest in peace to the crews of the Challenger and the Columbia space shuttles:
Francis Scobee. Michael Smith. Ronald McNair. Ellison Onizuka. Judith Resnik. Gregory Jarvis. Christa McAuliffe. Rick Husband. William McCool. Michael Anderson. David Brown. Kalpana Chawla. Laurel Clark. Ilan Ramon.
bringing the future: Rise
Despite the presence of four charming astronauts on board, the most captivating passenger proved to be Rise, a small stuffed mascot. Seen floating around the livestream onboard, the stuffed animal entertained both the crew and audiences at home. But, where did the traveler come from?
Designed by a Lucas Ye, a third-grade student, the plushie served as a zero-gravity indicator. The design, a smiling moon wearing an Earth baseball cap, was inspired by the famous “Earthrise” photo from the Apollo mission of 1968. Although the mascot was clearly adored by the crew, Rise also spoke to the dreamers back on Earth. The stuffed animal floated around as a symbol for the future astronauts currently sitting in classrooms, inspiring them to imagine the day they experience zero-gravity.
the women of artemis
Among those imagining, little girls were included. As the first woman to fly around the Moon, Christina Koch’s presence is the result of the work done by the women before her, and is just the beginning of those who will come after her.
Katherine Johnson: Calculated the flight trajectories for Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and Apollo 11.
Dorothy Vaughan: NASA’s first Black supervisor, who led her team into the computing era.
Mary Jackson: NASA’s first Black female engineer, who worked on the wind tunnels of the aircraft.
Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: NASA’s first female executive, who played a key role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope.
And many more, now including Christina Koch: the first woman to journey around the Moon.
Ultimately, the presence of women was literally and symbolically strong in this mission. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo. Now, she is his successor in the stars. Carrying our history toward the future, she represents a legacy that includes both man and womankind.
Thank you, Artemis II.