By Mary O’KEEFE

Artemis II astronauts are now headed home after going where “no one has gone before.” 

The four astronauts made history at 12:56 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 6, by traveling 248,655 miles from Earth, surpassing the record for the farthest distance for human spaceflight previously set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.

I am not sure this trip to the moon has garnered as much attention as the original trips did – but it should. Artemis is standing on the shoulders of thousands of engineers, scientists and astronauts, starting with Project Gemini from 1965 to 1966. 

If you think about it, it was only about 60 years ago that we discovered that humans could survive in space for weeks at a time. In the realm of historical change 60 years is only a blink of a cosmic eye. The fact that Americans were able to send crews to orbit the moon and then to land on it is something we should never take for granted. 

In fact, everything we do in space is awe inspiring. Just think of it: We have robots on Mars right now that are taking soil samples, rolling to new locations and performing so many scientific experiments. We have sent humans who circle the moon and come back once again, and we were the first to land on the moon in July 1969. 

The year 1969 saw a lot of change in the U.S. Though Woodstock was in August and “Sesame Street” premiered on PBS there was also a lot of upheaval in the nation. There were nationwide protests against the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the Stonewall Riots happened after police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City where patrons were arrested.

As a young kid during that time I remember seeing a constant stream of soldiers battling in the Vietnam War, coffins arriving back in the states covered with the American flag, protests on school campuses and police with guns drawn moving toward college students … to me it seemed like the world was ending. Beginning in elementary school we were given the assignment of reading newspapers – our local paper and the Des Moines Register. It was difficult to find anything that wasn’t “doom and gloom” … but then came the space program.

I remember the moon shots of the Apollo Missions. I remember the July 1969 moon landing. I was with my grandma and we had moved our respective rocking chairs closer to the TV … and just waited. When Neil Armstrong took that first step onto the surface of the moon my grandma took my hand. She said she felt so lucky to live long enough to see so many changes. She remembered the first time she rode in a gas-powered vehicle and now was watching humans on the moon. 

I have kept that awe inspired feeling, trying to never take for granted any exploration. I think the reason I am a Trekkie is because of the positive outlook of space travel, of humans working with beings on other planets and, above all, having the need to continue to explore and learn. It’s the same feeling I had when I watch the first trips to the moon. 

So even though society’s reality seems to be slanted, with AI being able to create anything just because we ask for it, I think it is important to realize what it took for humans to get to this point – why Artemis II is so important. Even with computers, AI and other technology, it took humans to imagine this trip … and to see it through. 

I think now, just like the turmoil in 1969, it is important for us to look up to the heavens and marvel at all we can do. 

We will be getting some rain over the next few days beginning with the first band arriving late Friday into Saturday morning. This could bring some thunderstorms in the foothills area. Then there is a small break through Saturday evening into early Sunday morning before the arrival of a second band of rain. 

The weekend rain total could be up to 1.5 inches. 

There will be some winds – but no wind advisory – with gusts as high as 25 mph on Friday. 

Temperatures will be around normal for this time of year – low 70s, high 60s.