Calusa Planetarium excited for Artemis II launch

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—The Calusa Planetarium is buzzing with excitement as the Artemis II launch approaches.

The planetarium holds artifacts and other pieces of space history. It also offers guided shows that educate the community on space and current exploration endeavors.

From touching an actual rock from Mars to reading about past space missions, it's a great place to learn more about Artemis II and what the future of space exploration could look like. 

Visitors of all ages are looking forward to the launch. Whether they watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon or are just learning about space exploration, the anticipation is palpable.

"The idea that somebody actually set foot on another planet, that was pretty impressive," Kathy said.

Tom, another visitor, shared his enthusiasm for the mission's broader significance.

"It's good that we are back to learning about us and where we're going, but maybe even more importantly where we came from," Tom said. "That's something to look forward to."

People who watched the Apollo and Challenger missions will be watching with excitement and hope the launch will go smoothly. Kathy emphasized the importance of crew safety, while Tom expressed optimism about future exploration.

"Hoping that they have a successful first mission, because that sets up more space exploration," Tom said.

Younger viewers hope Artemis II will be the beginning of more firsts. Sam, a young space enthusiast, sees the mission as a stepping stone to Mars.

"We've been trying to get to Mars forever, and I think this is just one more way we could try," Sam said.

Johnathan Hodge is the manager at the Calusa Planetarium. He works every day to share his knowledge and passion of space with others.

"I was always upset about the fact that I was born too late to see the Apollo missions and seeing how we went to the moon then," Hodge said. "But now we have this new renewed endeavor to try to go to the moon and try to reach there once more. Not just that, but go even further than the Apollo missions and set up a base on the moon and having a human presence on the moon. And that just to me is just exciting. I love it."

Hodge is excited for Artemis II to go farther than the Apollo mission and retain information that could create a human presence on the moon. Some space fans are looking for other exploration accomplishments, with Sam hoping to discover aliens.

Artemis II is going to be a mission for the history books, a combined work of thousands and thousands of people using past knowledge with new technology to get a crew of four to the far side of the moon. Hodge highlighted the collaborative nature of the mission.

"Within the movies, is that typically you see one person going into space to be a hero," Hodge said. "But no, how science is, is you see people working collaboratively together to try to achieve a common goal. And that is what we are seeing here."

Hodge said if you want to view the rocket launch from Southwest Florida, try to go somewhere without trees and buildings, then face northeast. Many people are hoping to get a peek of the launch or see a trail of smoke from Southwest Florida.