Above Edison High, January and February have settled in with a cold that seems to slow everything down. The air is sharper, mornings are darker, and the walk to class feels longer. Winter this year makes itself impossible to ignore, and so does space.
Instead of looking at the night sky, students at EHS should look directly towards the moon. For the first time in more than fifty years, NASA is preparing to send astronauts back toward it through the Artemis II mission. Scheduled as the first flight manned by people on board of NASA’s Artemis program, Artemis II will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and around the moon, marking humanity’s return to deep space exploration.
This milestone isn’t just historic, it’s something even students at EHS can get excited about.
“It’s cool knowing people are training to go around the Moon again while we’re just going to school and stuff,” said Harshithasri Kumar ‘27. “I knew that we went there once, but now that I’m aware that it’s happening again, it’s super cool.”
Unlike past missions focused on short stays in orbit, Artemis II is designed to test the systems needed for long-duration space travel. Life support, navigation, and communication systems will all be pushed farther than they have in decades. Though the mission will not land on the moon’s surface, it is a critical step towards future missions that will.
The timing of this mission feels fitting. This part of the year is defined by preparation and endurance for what is to come. Artemis II reflects that same mindset. Years of planning, testing, and revision have led to this moment, setting the foundation for the next era of lunar exploration.
“School is stressful, but it helps knowing that there are bigger things, and people are working toward something way bigger than high school right now,” said Ayana Shastri ‘29.
As winter stress builds and deadlines stack up, Artemis II serves as a reminder that progress does not happen all at once. It happens through preparation, patience, and pushing forward when the process feels slow. With everything happening beyond the classroom, the mission puts everyday stress into perspective.
