Garik Israelian, director of the Starmus festival, revealed on the 'Herrera en COPE Canarias' program that discussions are underway to secure the presence of an Artemis II mission crew member at the event's next edition. This space mission, currently orbiting the Moon, represents a new milestone in space exploration.
“"We are in contact and working to bring someone who has been on the Artemis II mission. I hope one of them comes to Starmus."
The potential addition of an Artemis II astronaut would build upon Starmus's already distinguished history, which in previous editions brought together legendary figures in space exploration. The festival has hosted the crews of Apollo 8, including William Anders and Jim Lovell, and Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Israelian recalled these gatherings as “unique” moments, though he lamented the initial low attendance due to the festival's nascent recognition.
In addition to astronauts from the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, the festival has featured ten astronauts from the Apollo program, such as Charlie Duke from Apollo 16, and Walter Cunningham and Rusty Schweickart from Apollo 9.
The Artemis II mission revives the feat of orbiting the Moon, an achievement not seen since the Apollo program, bringing the historic space race back into the present. Israelian, a doctor in physical-mathematical sciences from the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, explained that the Apollo 8 mission was expedited to beat the Soviets, as revealed by astronaut Bill Anders. The risk of these pioneering missions was considerably higher than current ones, with Apollo 8 facing at least 30 times the risk of Artemis II, and Alexei Leonov's first spacewalk having a 50% risk.
Regarding the renewed interest in the Moon, Israelian attributes this resurgence to a pre-existing NASA plan, boosted by Elon Musk's and SpaceX's vision of returning to Mars, which has generated excitement, especially among young people. Although the profitability of lunar mining is uncertain, the Starmus director emphasizes the value of establishing a lunar laboratory for research and technological development that benefits Earth. A future network of communication and Internet satellites on the Moon is anticipated, with real-time webcams that will inspire new generations. Regarding skeptics of the lunar landing, Israelian considers it an interesting psychological phenomenon that will not halt technological progress.
