{"id":416027,"date":"2026-04-02T03:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/416027\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:18:10","slug":"back-to-the-moon-artemis-ii-marks-a-new-era-for-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/416027\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to the Moon: Artemis II Marks a New Era for Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lmfm.ie\/news\/news-extra\/\" class=\"c-btn c-btn--small c-btn--secondary-fill\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        All News Extra<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aiir-c-news-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cd6f740ab5e.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/>\n                                    Getty images<\/p>\n<p class=\"aiir-c-news-article__abstract\">\n            Standing just feet away from the iconic countdown clock, Shaw describes the &#8220;overstimulating&#8221; atmosphere at the launch site\n        <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">broadcaster Gerry Kelly speaks with Irish scientist and space enthusiast <b data-index-in-node=\"111\" data-path-to-node=\"0\">Dr. Niamh Shaw<\/b>, who is reporting live from the Kennedy Space Center. The pair discusses the historic significance of the <b data-index-in-node=\"232\" data-path-to-node=\"0\">Artemis II<\/b> mission, which marks humanity&#8217;s return to lunar exploration after more than five decades.<\/p>\n<p>A Historic Milestone<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">Standing just feet away from the iconic countdown clock, Shaw describes the &#8220;overstimulating&#8221; atmosphere at the launch site. She emphasizes the profound importance of this mission: for the first time in history, a woman (<b data-index-in-node=\"221\" data-path-to-node=\"2\">Christina Koch<\/b>) and a Canadian astronaut will journey to the moon. Shaw reflects on how &#8220;seeing is being,&#8221; noting that having a woman on the mission will inspire future generations of girls to pursue careers in the science sector.<\/p>\n<p>Bridging the Past and Present<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">The conversation is steeped in personal history. Kelly recalls watching the 1969 Apollo 11 moonwalk as an eight-year-old with his father on a black-and-white television. Similarly, Shaw credits her own father&#8217;s work and encouragement for her path into science. They acknowledge a shared local pride, both being from <b data-index-in-node=\"316\" data-path-to-node=\"4\">County Louth<\/b>, and discuss the contributions of other Irish figures to lunar science, such as Frank Byrne\u2019s work on landing algorithms.<\/p>\n<p>Technological Evolution vs. Human Resilience<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">Shaw highlights the staggering technological leap since 1972. While the Apollo missions relied on computing power less advanced than a modern digital watch, Artemis II utilizes the highly sophisticated <b data-index-in-node=\"202\" data-path-to-node=\"6\">Orion capsule<\/b> (featuring a European-built service module). Despite these advances, Shaw points out that the fundamental human challenges remain unchanged:<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"7\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7,0,0\">Living in a cramped &#8220;tin can&#8221; the size of a camper van.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7,1,0\">The lack of gravity, fresh water, and natural oxygen.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7,2,0\">The inherent danger of the launch and reentry phases.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">The interview concludes with a sense of collective anticipation for the <b data-index-in-node=\"72\" data-path-to-node=\"8\">11:24 PM (Irish time)<\/b> blast-off, celebrating a new chapter in our species&#8217; connection to the moon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All News Extra Getty images Standing just feet away from the iconic countdown clock, Shaw describes the &#8220;overstimulating&#8221;&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[1555,1554,18,19,17,1557,1551,1550,1558,1559,1556,1552,1553,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-416027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-drogheda-radio","9":"tag-dundalk-radio","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-job-search","14":"tag-lm-fm","15":"tag-lmfm","16":"tag-lmfm-breakfast-show","17":"tag-lmfm-late-lunch","18":"tag-lmfm-podcast","19":"tag-louth-radio","20":"tag-meath-radio","21":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116332954030553175","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}