NASA isn’t the most well-known comic brand out there, but as a space and science nerd, its comic series First Woman: NASA’s Promise to Humanity is a masterpiece.
It centers around the Afro-Latina astronaut Callie Rodriguez, who has risen to prominence as the first woman to walk on the Moon and was serving as the commander in the story. Callie is accompanied by her robot creation, the mischievous RT. The comic is developed into at least three parts, with the first two editions already released and free to view online.
The first comic, titled Dream to Reality, retells the story of Callie’s character development from a space-obsessed child to becoming a famous astronaut. Along the way, Callie faces adversities, challenges, and personal loss that power her way through. Interwoven the story involves Callie and RT joining their crewmate Dan as they explore the Moon and ends with Callie dangling above a lunar crater as she loses contact when hiding from a solar flare.
The second comic, titled Expanding Our Universe centers around Callie’s new astronaut partner, the Native American astronaut Meshaya Billy. After resolving the cliffhanger in volume 1 with the two astronauts and RT figuring out a way to save themselves, Callie alongside Meshaya and another astronaut named Martin repairs a radio telescope in a remote part of the Moon. Meshaya’s quick thinking alongside Callie’s teamwork ensured Martin’s survival after he broke his leg during a sudden meteor strike. The comic volume ends with Callie being the Mission Control leader during NASA’s first mission to the Moon, with Meshaya being the mission’s commander.
Pure literary analysis first, the comic series is amazing in telling an inspiring story of how astronauts in the future use technology and their own smarts to survive and thrive on the Moon and potentially on Mars. Callie and Meshaya are inspirational in their own ways, not just through their identities, but in how they work together and help each other when faced with difficult challenges. Plus, the art style fits the story of exploration and perseverance well.
But despite how fun it is to read my personal Roman Empire (I am OBSESSED WITH THIS!), there is real-life science and ambition behind it. In November 2024 (temporarily planned at this date), NASA will launch its Artemis II mission with four astronauts onboard the enormous SLS rocket into space, then the astronauts will circle the Moon in the Orion spacecraft before splashing down on Earth in 10 days.
The crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Although they will not walk on the Moon, their mission will be nonetheless historic. It would mark the first time since 1972 that humans have left Earth’s orbit and circled the Moon. It will also make history with the first woman, African American, and non-American astronauts leaving Earth’s orbit for the first time.
The mission follows the footsteps of Artemis I, which is an unmanned mission testing the procedures for future human spaceflight back to the Moon. Following that will be Artemis III, in which two astronauts (including a woman and a person of color) will land on the lunar south pole and walk on the surface for the first time since Apollo 17, and two other astronauts will be orbiting around the Moon. Some have rumored it will be the same astronauts as the Artemis II mission and if things all go well, we can expect to see boots on the Moon in 2025. After Artemis III, NASA proposes to send humans to the Moon on an annual basis and establish a lunar outpost which will include a space station circling Earth’s nearest neighbor.
For some, it might not be as exciting as some might think. God knows what the conspiracy theorists think of this. Nonetheless, humanity’s return to the Moon will be an exciting achievement and a prequel to what’s to come.
The Moon is abundant in numerous resources, some of which are incredibly rare on Earth. NASA is planning to mine resources on the Moon, not only to benefit astronauts living on the surface soon but also to help with future missions as astronauts head to Mars. At the same time, a lunar space race has reignited with numerous nations and private space companies sending their spacecraft around the Moon and some landing on its surface. China’s Chang’e mission is widely successful in its mission goals to orbit, land, and return samples from the Moon back to Earth.
Over the holiday, I have caught up on some reading on spaceflight. Despite the dangers and sacrifices along the way (I might have been too fixated for some days on the tragedies), space exploration is exciting, exhilarating, and most importantly, inspiring. In a way, space exploration portrays the best of humanity. What mankind can achieve, beyond borders and politics, together. It is the pinnacle of human ingenuity and how we have used different aspects of STEM to ensure our survival in the most inhospitable place humans can be in. The Moon landings back in the Apollo era are awe-inspiring, Artemis will not live down to the hype anytime soon.
As we excitedly wait for the success of the Artemis missions and those soon to come, not only sending humans to the Moon but to Mars as well, maybe an Afro-Latina and Native American astronaut duo can keep us excited. Fingers crossed for a volume 3 coming along soon!
Awkward Update: Just hours after this article was published, NASA made the announcement that both Artemis II & III launch dates were delayed. Artemis II is now expected to launch in September 2025, and the Artemis III launch date is delayed until 2026 with the landing spot being in the lunar south pole. NASA’s reason behind the delay is due to safety issues with the spacecraft carrying the astronauts. While in other Moon-related news, the Peregrine mission which was the first moon lander mission sent out by the US since the Apollo missions abandoned a soft landing on the moon after technical difficulties with the solar panels and propulsion.