It was mesmerizing. Artemis ll soaring towards earth, some 400 miles above our planet, before it entered the mighty force of gravity, and began its perilous descent towards the Pacific Ocean. The statistics of the mission to orbit around the ‘dark side’ of the moon are staggering. Rocket thrust at life off was around 8.8 million pounds, it weighed in excess of 5.75 million pounds, and used a staggering 725,000 gallons of super cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Artemis ll achieved a maximum distance from earth of around 406,777 kilometers. Their re-entry speed was around 40, 233 kilometers per hour. The external temperature of the module would have peaked up to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit[i]. And as the module released its final set of parachutes it gently ascended into the Pacific Ocean at 32 kilometers an hour. Extraordinary stuff, as one commentator remarked, ´from a Jules Verne story to Artemis ll; an exceptional achievement for humanity”.

And it is an exceptional achievement, when placed within the context of human explorations and discoveries. The Artemis ll crew join a long list of distinguished explorers like: Lief Erikson, the first Norse explorer to set foot in the Americas, Marco Polo, who introduced Europeans to Asia and China, Zheng He, the Chinese explorer who sailed to the Eastern African coasts, to the much maligned in more recent times, Christopher Columbus and Captain Cook[ii], who rediscovered parts of the world hitherto unknown to the Europeans and the English. Historical context is important when understanding the almost innate desire of human kind to seek out and explore other worlds; rather than down the rabbit hole of sophistry, of the post-colonial critics.

For Star Trek fans (of which I am one) Space really is the final frontier, and this most recent exploration of our celestial neighborhood and the visit to the dark side of the moon would make any Pink Floyd fan proud!

Was it a waste of money, as many might have shared in their neighborhood cafes and family homes?  Or, was it an elaborate hoax as a friend claims?  Was it simply hubris on the part of the Americans who still lay claim to the biggest, brightest and the best? Was it as Peter Thiel might have claimed, a sign of the anti-Christ and the dark times to come?  Or was it a cause célèbre for science, engineering and technology, and the indomitable human spirit as Tennyson describes to “seek, to strive, to find and not to yield’?

Of course it was the latter; despite what others may say otherwise. Carl Sagan was a vociferous critic of those who lacked curiosity, and preferred the myths and stories that originated in early, primitive human societies. Science he says “teaches us about the deepest issues of origins, natures and fates-of our species, of life, of our planet, of the Universe. For the first time in human history we are able to secure a real understanding of some of these matters. Every culture on Earth has addressed such issues and values their importance. All of us feel goose bumps when we approach these grand questions. In the long run, the greatest gift of science may be teaching us, in ways no other human endeavour has been able, something about our cosmic context, about where, when and who we are”[iii].

There is a worrying trend which indicates a decline in enrolments in the physical sciences particularly, at school and university levels. A drop between primary and secondary school is often explained due to many students finding the sciences too difficult or disconnected from their day-to-day lives out of school[iv]. A 2024 report suggested an overall decline in the engagement with sciences over a 5 year period. This was blamed on crowded curricula, and the privileging of literacy and numeracy over science[v]. The irony is that science is dependent on literacy and numeracy for its survival.

My own experience as a former educator, was that many students found science subjects like physics, chemistry and higher level mathematics too difficult. Tutoring outside of school was discouraged, and students became despondent when pigeonholed or stereotyped as not being capable etc. In one school I worked, teachers were like sales people, giving talks to students on why their subject was the best to study. Economics teachers often out performed their science and mathematics colleagues with their sales pitch!

Universities report a similar decline. For example in New Zealand, and in other Western nations, the physical sciences have lost out to health, the humanities, and what are considered more accessible liberal study courses. In addition, the Armageddon type news reports on climate change and overall planet degradation, have seen a rise in curricula promoting environmental sciences and climate studies.

Despite attempts to change methods of instruction, teaching and learning overall remains premised upon passive rote learning, and memorization; especially in mathematics and the physical sciences[vi]. Further, teacher confidence, particularly in primary schools, whereby a teacher is perceived as a Jack or Jill of all trades and master of none, limits the opportunity for high quality professional development in crucial subjects like mathematics and the physical sciences[vii].

Until these critical issues are addressed, student interest in higher level mathematics, and the physical sciences will wane further, with the risk of science remaining a Candle in the Dark.

[i] https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

[ii] https://explorerspodcast.com/chronological-list/

[iii] Sagan, C The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, p.38

[iv] https://theconversation.com/nz-curriculum-refresh-the-world-faces-complex-challenges-and-science-education-must-reflect-that-209232

[v] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11165-025-10308-3

[vi] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11165-025-10308-3

[vii] https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018796870/is-teacher-confidence-behind-declining-science-results