The Artemis II launch, in case you need a TL;DR on all the coverage, was a big deal. A really big deal. I mean, you might think it's a big deal when SpaceX executes a perfect retro-rocket landing, but that's just peanuts compared to all the things that have to go right when you're hurling a massive nitrogen and hydrogen-filled missile, tipped with actual human beings, at the moon.

And somehow, social media sensed it. For one moment, those hellscapes of doomscrolling had nothing but admiration and applause for a tremendous scientific achievement — the likes of which nobody under 54 has seen in their lifetimes. (That includes most of that supremely cynical generation, Gen X.)

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It wasn't hard to be overwhelmed by awe. We've never seen a crewed moon rocket launch on social media before, and we've certainly never seen one with modern camera technology.

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What a fucking shot holy shit

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— Tetraethyl (@tetraethyl.bsky.social) April 1, 2026 at 3:47 PM

There was another reason for the celebratory mood — that at a time of war, inflation, and environmental and political catastrophe, we can have a hard time remembering what it looks like when a major world event is about something not going wrong.

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And somehow, even the critics of the cost felt Artemis II was worth it.

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