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The major concern behind this frequently raised objection is that a space mission, like a professional sports event, is a one-shot entertainment phenomenon. You do the mission, you earn some money, and then after that it's not any fun any more. Set aside this preconceived notion; one-shot extravaganzas are not what the Artemis Project is about.
Historically, space flght has been presented as a sporting event. That's a major part of the problem. If the engineers do their job right, space flight has none of the win-or-lose drama of even a sporting event, so it becomes boring. Space development will undoubtedly include sporting events, but these play only a minor role in the vision of the Artemis Project.
| The real story of space flight is the promise it holds for changing the lives of individual people. |
The real story of space flight is the promise it holds for changing the lives of individual people. Exploration is a spectator sport for most people -- we send out explorers who report back on what they have found, and we enjoy the stories they tell. However, once we know what it out there, exploration is followed by a wave of settlement. This is as true for the realm beyond the sky as it was for the mysterious lands beyond the Mississippi River.
Beyond the explorers, the Artemis Project is about settlers.
We are developing a pioneering program. Instead of just sending a handful of explorers to see what's there, we're building toward a permanent, self-supporting community on the moon and beyond. Look at the movies and television shows that have been made about the two functions of exploration and settlement. The stories of Captain Cook and Lewis & Clarke are good for one-off dramas; but the dramatic series are about the settlers, the people whose lives were changed.
Our program necessarily must start with exploration, but the story is about the settlers to come.
By illustrating the story of those hardy pioneers and the generations that will follow as the moon becomes the center of the space-faring community, we can earn our place in the cosmos.
We have barely scratched the surface of this story in section 2 of the Artemis Data Book. We will present it in a more immediate, hands-on environment with Project Leto.
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