Beyond Apollo: Building a Permanent Foundation for the Future 

Published February 5, 2026

 

The first moonwalk on my grandparents’ TV is among my earliest memories. Years later, as kids my wife and I first shared the same physical location (unknowingly) while in the crowd at the Air and Space Museum’s grand opening. In addition to those things, I was raised by planetarium directors. With all of this, I would say that things beyond Earth’s atmosphere have partially shaped who I am.

Years ago, I worked on a film crew near Houston shooting a commercial with Alan Bean. Before his passing in 2018, the legendary astronaut-turned-artist shared first-hand accounts with me and the director of his time in space, and his heart-felt stories made the cosmos feel even more real and wondrous all over again. 

That encounter and my early life are woven into the emotional fabric of my writing today. Conveying heart-felt feelings can be good reading, but let’s add to those warm feelings some interesting details about NASA’s immediate intent with Artemis. 

So, what is the mission? Artemis II is scheduled to send four astronauts around the Moon, and many of the specifics of this mission are profound shifts in how humans will interact with deep space. We’ll start with some heritage-honoring recycling.

Though the rocket looks new, its four RS-25 engines are battle-hardened Space Shuttle veterans. Some helped build the ISS in the ’80s and ’90s before being refurbished for this new era. This “poetic bridge” uses the literal heart of past achievements to power our here and now.

Next, we reinforce our realization that we’ve not made this trip recently and that space travel is inherently unforgiving. The engineering behind the Artemis II flight path shows a dedication to crew safety through physics rather than just more technology.

The mission uses a “hybrid free-return trajectory.” Once the crew fires their engines toward the Moon, gravity does the rest: the Moon’s pull swings the spacecraft around the far side and slingshots it back to Earth. This creates a fail-safe so that if the propulsion system fails mid-trip, the laws of nature will automatically pull our astronauts home.

However, there’s one way we aren’t going to “play it safe” by using the old tested playbook. Actually, we hope to improve safety by doing something new. The return trip features a maneuver only tested once before with a human-rated spacecraft during Artemis I. Instead of plunging straight into the atmosphere and enduring punishing G-forces, the Orion capsule will perform a “skip entry.” Only this time, with people aboard. 

Think of skipping a stone across the Brazos. The capsule will hit the atmosphere, bounce back into space briefly to bleed off heat and speed, then descend for splashdown. This “skip” allows for precise landings and a gentler ride, proving we can navigate the atmosphere with finesse rather than brute force. Theoretically, this will prove to be safer. Join me in praying that it is.

Another difference between 1969 and 2026 is who is involved. While we’ve flipped a bit on how comfortable we are with globalization and its inherent dependencies, that remains part of Artemis. When Apollo was a solo American effort born of geopolitical rivalry, this American Orion capsule cannot function without Europe. 

The service module provides electricity, water, oxygen, and propulsion, and it was built by Airbus in Europe. Without it, astronauts can’t move and will die. While I appreciate national pride and I have plenty, once we leave our atmosphere, I am partial to us seeing ourselves primarily as humans from Earth. Sidenote: One of the astronauts on this mission is a Canadian, who also is making his first trip to space. Cool for him.

The next bit of detail should make humanity’s ability to experience it all real-time better than ever before. When Apollo went to the Moon, we watched history through a foggy television signal. Artemis is bringing the experience into the modern era with high-definition clarity.

The mission is testing laser communications, moving beyond traditional radio to enable live 4K video from the Moon. We won’t just hear audio; we’ll virtually “ride shotgun” as the crew becomes the first in 50 years to see the lunar far side. From high altitude, they will witness the entire mysterious landscape at once – a perspective never before seen by human eyes. Truth be told, with this specific technology, our trip to the Moon might have better streaming than some parts of Bosque County.

Finally, the most misunderstood aspect of Artemis is its ultimate goal. Why go back to the Moon? Because we are going to Mars.

The Moon is no longer the finish line; it is the proving ground. Every piece of hardware on this mission is over-engineered for the lunar trip specifically so it can handle the multi-year voyage to the Red Planet. We are using the Moon as a sandbox to test life support, radiation shielding, and deep-space navigation before we commit humans to the longer haul.

I’m aware that not everyone looks at space and NASA the same way I do. For some, the idea of NASA returning to the Moon might feel like a rerun. “Been there, done that.” Some ask, “Why spend the money to do it again?”

As we approach the launch of Artemis II, I hope you get a glimpse as to why this is not Apollo 2.0. If Apollo was a Cold War sprint to plant a flag, the Artemis program is the construction crew laying the foundation for a permanent residence. And since the goal is to build a new “home away from home” on the Moon, I hope someday someone figures out how to make a decent brisket in zero-G. That might not be top priority, but it’s not a home without the right grub.

When that rocket goes up, it’s more than just a nostalgic trip. It’s an important step of humanity moving off-world to stay. In my opinion, that’s something worth watching.

And beyond this, let’s see what’s next!

 

J Matt Wallace