The Moon, a source of inspiration
The Moon, a source of inspiration
The Moon has always been a source of wonder. Shining in our night sky, it has fed the imaginations of artists, hopeless romantics, poets, and musicians for centuries. Indigenous peoples consider the Moon to be very spiritual and to have special powers.
Both Earth and the Moon are visible in this image that Orion captured as the spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth on day 13 of the Artemis I mission. (Credit: NASA)
Past Moon landings inspired generations of scientists and engineers, like many at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), who credit images of astronauts walking on the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s with joining the Canadian space program later in life.
NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the Moon in . (Credit: NASA)
Most of our CSA astronauts also started dreaming of exploring space thanks to the Apollo lunar missions.
Canada is now preparing to go to the Moon as part of the Artemis II mission, and we want Canadian youth to reach for their own star; get excited about space and science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and understand how they can play a role in future missions to the Moon and beyond.
The Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo 16 mission. For Julie Payette, seeing astronauts drive around on the Moon in this "Jeep" when she was young inspired her to become an astronaut herself. (Credit: NASA)
Dreaming of the Moon
Young Jeremy Hansen, when he was about 6 years old, poses in a mock-up of the Apollo lunar spacesuit during a family trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credit: Hansen family)
"The inspiration provided by the Apollo program – the bravery, competence and technical achievement – changed my life. It gave me the idea and the permission to imagine myself as an astronaut."
"I remember looking at photos of humans on the Moon as a young child and then staring up at the Moon in the night sky and realizing people had been there. From that point forward I was looking in my school library for books on space and it was all about building bases on other planets and travelling to other planets. I thought, ‘That is what I am going to do someday.’
I turned my treehouse into a rocket ship. I had dials and circuit breakers for switches and all sorts of stuff. I was really exploring space at a young age, because of the fact that I saw that humans had left our planet and walked on the Moon. I still think today that it is the coolest thing."
"Just the thought of the day when we might see a Canadian flag on the Moon is something that excites me like nothing else. That day is coming."
"When I was 9 or 10 years old, I would watch the exploits of the astronauts of the Apollo missions on TV, who were going back and forth from Earth to the Moon. I said to myself, ‘One day, I would like to become an astronaut too.’ I was fascinated by the lunar Jeep, the rocket propulsion and the spacesuits. I wanted to do the same thing."
"As a child, I was impressed by photos of Earth taken by the Apollo astronauts from the Moon and I was drawn to a life of adventure, exploration and discovery."
"Going to the Moon in the Apollo era changed what we thought was possible. (…) I would absolutely want to be the first woman on the Moon. It just provides so many opportunities for humankind, science and exploration."