Meanwhile, in My Backyard: Artemis II

Thursday, April 2, 2026 — Orlando, Florida

Hi there.

It’s another spring day, earnestly auditioning for a role in summer’s wardrobe. As I write, the temperature is a balmy 80 °F (27 °C), basking beneath sunny skies. Humidity is holding steady at 58%, while an east‑southeast breeze clocks in at 8 mph (13 km/h), nudging the “feels like” temperature up to 87 °F (31 °C). Thursday promises to be a little on the damp side — today’s forecast features scattered light rain showers, just enough to keep Floridians guessing whether it’s safe to leave the umbrella at home. The high is expected to reach 81 °F (27 °C), so it’s safe to say the weather is showing off its spring‑to‑summer transition skills.

Last night, as I stood in my backyard in Bithlo, I witnessed my very first space launch in person. At 6:35 PM EDT, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) booster thundered off Cape Canaveral, carrying the Orion spacecraft skyward. Living about 40 miles west‑southwest of Kennedy Space Center has its perks, especially when the skies cooperate. Thanks to mostly clear conditions, I saw the long white plume trailing behind Artemis II’s booster rockets and caught a fleeting glimpse of the brilliant flame as the first stage climbed toward Earth orbit — the opening chapter of humanity’s first crewed Moon mission since December 1972. If only backyard barbecues came with such celestial entertainment.

I am, naturally, a child of the Apollo era. In December 1968, when Apollo 8 made its pioneering circumlunar flight, I was a wide‑eyed five‑year‑old — ready to hitch a ride to the Moon if someone would let me. That mission paved the way for Apollo 10 and 11, the latter becoming the first of six triumphant lunar landings between July 1969 and December 1972. So even though the mood has been a bit subdued — thanks in no small part to the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran and the sour aftertaste it has left around the world — I couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement. Not just because of Artemis II’s many superlatives (the first Black lunar astronaut, the first female lunar astronaut, and the first Canadian lunar astronaut), but because the last time humans visited our nearest celestial neighbor, I was nine — and now, at 63, I finally get to witness history repeat itself. Sometimes all it takes is a rocket launch to remind you that the cosmos is still full of surprises.