Looking Up Into Space
My reflections on Artemis II and much more
With so many competing crises dominating the news, the climate emergency has receded from the headlines — but not from our reality. These issues intersect with the war in Iran, the deregulation of corporate pollution, the expansion of environmental injustice, and what may be immigration’s next massive challenge. As a writer and activist, I’ve long believed that books are critical to shaping how we understand ourselves and our world.
I talk about climate and books together because both are about what we dream, what we imagine, what we need to know.
One of my childhood dreams — stretching well into my freshman year of college — was space. In 1987, I was invited to watch a weird new show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. It blew my mind. I’d already been indoctrinated by Doctor Who, tripping through time from planet to planet, but the return of Star Trek renewed something in me: space held a glorious mystery, an extraordinary promise.
Then there was 1986.
Almost every child in America could name the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger — Ronald McNair, the second Black person to fly in space; Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space. I knew other names too: Guy Bluford, Sally Ride, Mae Jemison. These were trailblazers who went into outer space and took the rest of us with them. Space was about possibility — infinite, visible to anyone who could simply look up.
I remember the reverence with which we spoke of NASA in the 1980s. I remember watching the Challenger explosion in 1986 from my homeroom at Bayou View Jr. High School. That tragedy remains one of my most searing memories, and the way it halted our zeal for space has been a lasting public scar.
Then last week — despite our coarse political reality, despite this administration’s contempt for science — the Artemis II mission reminded me, and millions of others, of why we love space. We may have made the unconscionable decision to defund the CDC, NIH, and NSF, to revile learning itself. But this flight to the moon, whatever the politics behind it, allowed us to reclaim a small measure of our shared vision.
Artemis II will be dismissed by some as a waste of money and time. To me, it is a reminder of our common humanity. When Victor Glover looked out that window and described seeing the blue marble of Earth — our one-of-one world — he reminded us that science and technology, at their best, serve knowledge and humanity. This is how we reach beyond our known limits. And there has never been a time in America when imagining more was more necessary.
From miles above, the crew is already sending back images of our home planet. They’ll show us the far side of the moon — the one we’ve written songs about but never seen. No one can claim full ownership of that view. We are all common stewards of this planet. We are all temporary occupants.
I have watched Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, For All Mankind, and every season of Doctor Who. All of it — every story about the possibility of space travel — is ultimately about one thing: who we are.
With Artemis II, we can see anew what Americans, what humans, can believe about ourselves: that with bound hopes and boundless ingenuity, we can head to infinity and beyond.
Thank you to the crew of Artemis II for the reminder.
Watch this week’s episode of our Assembly Required podcast with guest Ayana Elizabeth Johnson ⬇️
What You Might’ve Missed
Last week, I spoke with Antonia Hylton on on Christopher Hayes’ show about the horrible conditions at the Dilley Detention Center and what we can do right now to bring awareness to this important issue.
Catch Up
Last week’s Assembly Required episode with Roxane Gay ⬇️
Join Us
Maryland friends, I’ll be joining the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) as the keynote speaker for its annual Presidential Lecture Series on Wednesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place in the UMES Student Services Center theater and is open to the public. Hope to see some of you there.
In Los Angeles Next Week?
I'll be at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 18 from 12:30pm - 1:30pm at the Bovard Auditorium to discuss my latest novel, Coded Justice, with Leigh Haber. I hope you'll join me. More info here.
Always such a pleasure to be in conversation with you. Thanks for having me on!
beautiful