KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.—The first time NASA launched humans toward the Moon, in December 1968, the United States was a deeply fractured nation.
The historic flight of three people into the unknown brought a measure of solace to a country riven by assassinations, riots, political discord, and a deeply unpopular foreign war.
If history does not repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. Today, four humans are on the way to the Moon, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. They do so, once again, amid a troubled world.
Will Artemis II have a similar impact? Does it even matter?
Artemis II was not a global event
The world of today is, of course, incredibly different from that of the 1960s, especially the landscape of media competing for public attention. Just three US television networks graced the airwaves then, compared to hundreds today and a bazillion more online through viewing options like YouTube and social media. And increasingly, younger generations are as interested in creating content as they are in consuming it.
The world population in 1968 was about 3.5 billion people, or a little less than half of today’s. Yet an estimated one-quarter of them watched broadcasts from the Moon. The stunning “Earthrise” photo, which poetically illustrated how humanity was all in this together, captured worldwide attention.
We don’t have concrete viewer numbers of the Artemis II launch. Based on preliminary estimates, though, the total viewership of NASA’s livestream reached about 16 million people, with perhaps that many more watching television broadcasts and online streams. Undoubtedly millions of people will see snippets on social media accounts. But by any measure, the launch of Artemis II does not seem to have been a global event.
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