In this episode of The West Wing, Galileo V, an unmanned space probe travels to and descends on Mars, however, contact is then lost with the probe, jeopardizing a segment that the President was going to do for Elementry school students revolving around Galileo V.

In The West Wing Sam describes space exploration as “what’s next” on the human timeline of exploration. Each day we are getting closer and closer to space exploration, and that is especially evident as we are counting the days to the Artemis I launch. However much of what is planned to come next hangs on the Artemis I launch.

This Monday Artemis I, the first step in NASA’s mission to eventually establish a long-term presence on the moon, had the launch of Its unmanned rocket scrubbed due to engine bleeding, a vent valve issue, and unfavorable weather conditions. The launch is now planned for this Saturday.

In Greek mythology, Artemis is the Twin sister of Apollo, which is fitting given the Artemis Program is meant to pick off where Apollo 11 left off, and return people to the moon. Artemis I is planned to fly farther than any spacecraft designed for humans ever has. However, the Artemis program also has much larger goals. NASA has said that they want to develop a lunar economy, and according to Vox, the program is laying the groundwork for a human base camp, series of nuclear reactors, and mining operations on the lunar surface.

Again, all this builds upon the Artemis 1 mission, which is why it is so important that the rocket be able to successfully launch. Besides all the material value in scientific discovery and economic resources it could bring, for many young Americans, we have not seen anything amazing such as the Artemis I mission happen in our lifetimes.

Not only is this something important for the current economic and scientific communities, but this is something that may just inspire the next generations of artists, scientists, and astronauts.

Whether or not the rocket launches on Friday, we are moving in the direction of space being the new frontier.