Artemis 2 launch emotional reaction is where Jen Gerson's column began. She watched the launch with her family. Her husband got emotional and tried not to show it. Her nine-year-old said that is cool. She sat down to figure out what she was actually feeling and followed it to a love letter to the moon and a subtitle that says we must continue to do the stupid thing.

What is it like to look at a rocket and understand that what you are witnessing is the most primitive stage of a project measured in centuries? Jen Gerson says nobody watching this launch will be remembered when the destination is finally reached and she finds that beautiful. The tens of thousands of engineers behind the mission do not exist without a society that educated millions of people to make those ten thousand possible. Everyone is part of the thread. That is the point.

Things have been dark and chaotic and all-encompassing. Jen Gerson says we all need a project. The people who will have lunch on the moon one day will look back at April 1st 2025 the way we look back at the first text message. It felt enormous. It was just the beginning.

Topics: Artemis 2 launch emotional reaction, love letter to moon, space exploration human purpose, Jen Gerson ReadTheLine, hopeful news space

GUEST: Jen Gerson | http://readtheline.ca

Originally aired on 2026-04-02