From the Editors: To the stars through adversity

In 2020, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote in his book, The Decadent Society, that America had entered an age of decadence and stagnation. We were resting on the triumphs of the past — whether in fields of science, art, technology, or politics — and were now lulling ourselves to sleep with attractive baubles like iPhones instead of striving for something greater. Since that time, the impact of Covid-19 has only increased this impression as the lockdowns and school closures accelerated the feeling that society was crumbling at the fringes and that we couldn’t do any of the great things — or even the normal things — that we used to do.

Great nations should aspire to great deeds. Great societies should encourage their citizens to strive for new heights, not merely to be content with the past. That is why the recent successful launch and return of the Artemis II mission around the moon is so important. We never left space, but the decline of manned missions as the centerpiece of the space exploration program since 1972 has made NASA feel like just one more thing that was once great but was now in decline. 

With Artemis, the feeling of wonder that once animated this country is beginning to return. It is essential that the program continue and that it not merely replicate the successes of the Apollo missions but exceed them. It is good for scientific inquiry, but beyond that it is good for America’s sense of itself as the nation that can still embody exceptional greatness.

Looking at the dollars and cents of it, manned space exploration doesn’t always pencil out. In terms of what can be learned, a machine can often do the job more cheaply and less dangerously, with the cost of failure being far, far lower. But not everything can be evaluated as a line on an accountant’s spreadsheet. There is an art, too, to how we spend our time and money, and it is as important as the science in how it affects our culture.

We saw this in 2024, when competing messages on the economy shaped the political race. Faced with a populace that felt like things were going badly, the Biden administration could only respond with charts showing GDP growth and stock market gains. Two years later, the Trump administration struggles with the same disconnect: the nation’s sense of itself is not always aligned with the financial bottom line.

Great projects like the new missions to the moon uplift a people. 

Some people will still be determined to be miserable, or to feel that the country is doomed unless their preferred candidate occupies the White House. But great programs that span administrations and cross political divides can help heal that. Artemis is the start of that healing, and a return to greatness in America that goes beyond the election returns.