01/04/2026
It’s been 19,461 days since Eugene Cernan (pictured) uttered the words “… for all mankind” - the last words spoken on the lunar surface at the end of the Apollo 17 mission, bringing the Apollo programme to an end.
Since his return along with fellow astronauts Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans, no human has set out to travel further than low earth orbit - about 250 miles above the Earth. Until today.
The technology available now is beyond anything they could have imagined 53 years ago, but so too is the level of international involvement and cooperation. By the time Cernan returned from Taurus-Littrow only two nations had sent people to space: the United States and the Soviet Union. Now 55 different countries have had astronauts, including the UK with Helen Sharman and . And many countries are involved in helping to make today’s mission a success, with providing the Service Module being but one example.
Tonight - if all goes to plan - Artemis II will launch from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and four people will set once again on an epic journey to the moon. They won’t land this time, but their success will pave the way for others who follow, and allow for the possible creation of a permanent human outpost on the lunar surface. Artemis II is a generational shift in human space exploration. I was alive when Cernan started that journey home, but too young to recall it now. The only people who do remember the extraordinary Apollo endeavours will now be in their mid-sixties at least. Now a new generation will be able to watch in awe and high definition as new firsts are claimed with humans once more setting out on a quest for exploration. The best of luck and good fortune to them all.
