Image Credit: NASA

Returning to the Moon is no longer a distant goal. It is a vision that is becoming reality. 

NASA’s Artemis program focuses on returning astronauts to the Moon, expanding scientific understanding, and creating a foundation for future missions beyond. 

Space exploration has always required long-term thinking. It takes years of planning, coordination across industries, and a willingness to take on challenges that are not easy. Having spent four decades working in aerospace manufacturing, including both technical and leadership roles, I have seen firsthand the level of precision and collaboration required to bring these kinds of efforts together. Throughout my career I have worked across multiple areas of aerospace from production to operations and flight testing. 

The Artemis II mission represents an important step forward. The mission takes place over 10 days, carrying a crew of four astronauts on a journey around the Moon before returning to Earth. It does not include a lunar landing; it serves as a critical test of the systems that will support future missions. 

It also marks the first time humans traveled beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years. The crew will travel more than 250,000 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have gone before. As the spacecraft passed behind the Moon, communication with Earth was temporarily lost. That was expected, and it’s a reminder of just how far the mission traveled and the capability of the astronauts guiding it. 

While missions like Artemis take place far from home, the work behind them is not as distant as it may seem. Northrop Grumman operates a major satellite manufacturing facility here in Gilbert and is part of the broader aerospace network supporting technologies connected to future lunar missions. Efforts like these are a reminder that innovation often happens across many communities, each contributing in different ways. 

For our younger residents, missions like Artemis highlight the opportunities that exist in science, engineering, and skilled trades. These are fields that continue to grow and play an important role in both our local and national economy. 

Space exploration also continues to produce benefits here on Earth. Advances in technology, materials, and communications often begin with programs like Artemis and later become part of everyday life, improving systems we rely on in ways that are not always visible. 

Gilbert has always been a community that values hard work, planning, and looking ahead. Those same principles are reflected in efforts like Artemis. The work is complex, the timeline is long, and the outcome is not immediate, but it is built on a commitment to progress and a belief in what is possible. 

Returning to the Moon is not just about where we are going, but how we choose to get there.

- Councilmember Monte Lyons