For the United States, its about connection and trust: How NASA is capitalizing on the Artemis II saga

“It’s fantastic to hear news from Earth again,” said Christina Koch from the Artemis II mission on Monday after passing behind the Moon. Alain Cirou, editor-in-chief of the magazine Ciel et espace, commented on an episode that was both “magical and frightening.”

“Once again, we passed behind the mirror,” reacted Alain Cirou on Franceinfo on Tuesday, April 7, editor-in-chief of the Ciel et espace magazine. After 45 minutes of silence, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission passed to the other side of the Moon, then reappeared in Earth’s view. These moments were broadcast live on the night of Monday, April 6 to Tuesday, April 7, on various platforms including YouTube and Netflix.

“The Moon is truly by essence the mirror, as it reflects the Sun’s light,” describes the specialist. “But it is also our natural frontier. So, passing behind the Moon is witnessing a spectacle where Earth disappears.”

“What was quite impressive last night was being in the spectacle, on a planet that appears to be the only light with a little bit of color in a deep dark and strange sky.”

Alain Cirou, editor-in-chief of the magazine Ciel et espace

on Franceinfo

Alain Cirou describes a hidden face of the Moon that is rediscovered with amazement despite the images we already know: “It’s a very different place from the visible face. It’s much more cratered, much darker. We can clearly see that it’s a face that has experienced many collisions with asteroids.”

“It’s both magical and frightening,” holding the breath of all those following this real-life test by the United States, explains Alain Cirou. “One needs to pay attention to one thing, reality and propaganda,” he explains. “NASA communicates with a lot of subtlety about this return to the Moon, because space, for the United States, is about connection, it’s about trust.”

“It serves to unify the population. It’s a unifying discourse, in a country that really needs it right now.”

“The idea that we are part of a single entity called the Earth-Moon system makes sense for the United States because it symbolizes unity,” analyzes Alain Cirou.

The first times continue with NASA missions, breaking the record for distance from Earth, the first woman and first African-American to participate in a lunar mission, “returning to the Moon is not a race anymore,” reminds Alain Cirou.

“The Chinese started this return almost 25 years ago. (…) The real question is, why go there? Why go to the Moon? Why go to Mars? Today, I would say that it symbolizes power.”

“Going to the Moon also allows us to awaken cosmic consciousness.”

After this passage behind the Moon, the next step promises to be full of suspense. The return to Earth, and especially the landing, will be a critical phase. “We are in a test flight, a trial flight, and the critical point will not be the journey, but the landing,” explains Alain Cirou, “the astronauts will land, on Friday night to Saturday, in the Pacific, off the coast of California, arriving at a very high speed of 40,000 km/h.”

Despite a insulating shield that will protect the capsule entering the atmosphere from a temperature of 2,300 degrees Celsius, “we know this shield is fragile, so there is suspense until the last moment,” emphasizes the specialist.