American science can't afford to lose its verve—just think of the Artemis II mission

That line, borrowed from the hero of the science-fiction blockbuster Project Hail Mary, came as Wiseman took in, for the first time, the full majestic scale of the moon. Our nearest neighbour and nightly companion loomed large before them, looking several times bigger than home, which was a mere crescent off in the distance.

Less than an hour earlier, at roughly 1:56pm Eastern US time, Wiseman and his three fellow crew members had broken the previous record for human space travel. They didn’t touch down on the moon—this is a dress rehearsal for future landings. Yet, just boomeranging around it is a monumental feat.

Remarkably, we mere mortals get to watch it all unfold in real time. We can tune into the Nasa feed and hear the astronauts’ first impressions of a meteor hitting the surface of the moon, see the photos they share on Instagram—from space!—and take in their near-giddy descriptions of a solar eclipse from the far side of the moon.

“No matter how long we look at this, our brains are not processing this image in front of us,” Wiseman said of their view. “It is absolutely spectacular, surreal, there’s no adjectives. We’re going to need to invent some new ones.”

That was one of several moments over the last few days when I’ve been overcome by the mission’s profundity. It welled up as I watched the astronauts get buckled into their seats. It overflowed as the countdown to lift-off began—and again when enough time had passed to feel comfortable that everything was largely unfolding as planned. And it resurged several days in as the astronauts circled the moon and spent hours describing things no human has ever witnessed.

Isn’t science spectacular?

Artemis II is a desperately needed reminder of the magic that is possible when humans come together to realize a lofty goal.

The examples of what scientists have accomplished in the past quarter century astound: they’ve planted rovers on Mars and detected the subatomic particle long considered fundamental to understanding the universe; leapt from completing the first map of our genome to discovering tools that can fix tiny errors in it; invented vaccines responsible for eliminating cervical cancer in parts of the world and ending a global pandemic. And now, we have sent four humans on a 250,000-mile trip to the far side of the moon.

All those successes have something in common: they are the product of decades of curiosity, ingenuity and perseverance by teams of researchers, made possible by a government that believes in taking big scientific swings.

Yet the ability to do this kind of work has never felt so tenuous in the US. Artemis II is making its journey at a time when science feels under siege. Last year, the Trump administration made painful cuts across scientific agencies, including Nasa. Researchers have been demoralized by doubt over the value of their work—much of that coming from government leaders.

That perplexing desire to hobble US scientific enterprise hasn’t abated. Just two days after Artemis set off towards the moon, President Donald Trump released his proposed budget for next year, a wish list that once again included big cuts to science. Some, such as the National Science Foundation, would see their budget cut by half or more. For its part, Nasa could be looking at a $5.6 billion drop in funding next year.

Congress keeps pushing back against those cuts, yet the Trump administration keeps finding ways to slow down the flow of money appropriated for science. It’s a perplexing tug-of-war that will only slow down scientific progress—and could mean the US isn’t at the centre of the next awe-inspiring event.

Last week, after Mission Control officially informed the Artemis crew of their record-breaking feat, Wiseman’s noted that their achievement was built on the backs of generations of scientists and explorers. He ended with a crucial message: “We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Indeed, scientists—and aspiring scientists—must keep pushing the boundaries, whether that’s by expanding our knowledge of the universe or finding a cure for a currently incurable disease.

And Americans must insist that their government keep nurturing that spirit of ingenuity and innovation. ©Bloomberg

The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical industry.