Artemis II

I'm utterly absorbed by NASA's live coverage of the Artemis mission today, as the spacecraft takes a long loop around the back side of the Moon. 

I confess I doubted that having the crew take turns looking out the window and describing what they see would have any real scientific value. I couldn't imagine what they'd see that hadn't already been photographed close-up by other missions like Apollo or the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has photographed every inch of the lunar surface. 

But I'm convinced that their perspective is unique and has unique value. LRO sees trees, the astronauts are looking at the forest. And regardless of whatever scientific value their observations have, the feeling of being there with them is priceless. It's riveting.