Sharife Gacel

Artemis II marks humanity’s return to deep space with a crew onboard for the first time since 1972. While often discussed as a systems test, the mission carries a robust scientific agenda focused on one critical variable: humans. From crew health and performance to real-time lunar observations, Artemis II uses human data to shape how future missions will safely and effectively explore beyond the Moon. This mission is not just about going farther. It is about understanding how we do so.

A giant balloon carries NASA’s ASTHROS telescope to the edge of space, revealing how stars shape galaxies and how new worlds begin.

On our visit to Mount Wilson Observatory, we met a celebrity of sorts. The final stop of the tour was the telescope Edwin Hubble used. Hubble, as in the man the Hubble Space Telescope was named after. Standing inside the dome and looking through the same instrument he once worked with made time feel suspended. My mind kept circling the idea that some of humanity’s greatest discoveries about the universe were made right there, in that very room. Hubble’s most famous contribution was...