Per Audacia Ad Astra

Earthset _{(Credit: NASA)}

We call gravity a theory,
Though it feels more like an immutable law,
A fundamental force of the universe tying us to our pale blue dot.
Yet through intelligence and determination, we slipped its bonds.

Not for any specific goal, just to say we could,
Spitting in the face of physics out of pure defiance. 
As years wore on, we flew higher and faster,
Until the deep blue was blasé and we yearned for skies unknown.

We looked into the night sky at Artemis’ domain,
Pointed our finger and said, “That is where we must go.”
People spoke as though we were crazy, but the reason was simple.
It’s what was next.

We left found fire, crossed oceans, tamed wildernesses, and flew.
Our history is a timeline of exploration,
And with this planet so well mapped,
The next place to go was towards the stars.

We built towering colossi of explosive potential
To enable us to once again tell the laws of the universe to step aside,
And take mankind farther from Earth than we could have dreamed, 
Slipping through the tight bonds of gravity itself. 

We took one small step which became a giant leap,
And now we return to leaping after our feet were stayed for so long,
Insignificant beings from a pale blue dot brushing the cosmos
Answering questions we may not have asked yet. 

We have chosen to return for the sake of exploration.
We sent a new generation of pioneers farther than ever before,
Accompanied by artifacts of those who laid the path,
And the spirits of souls lost to guide them safely there and home again. 

From the earth to the moon, for all mankind,
We step boldly into a new age of looking towards the heavens,
And daring humanity to be greater by taking love to the stars.
Per audacia ad astra. 

Copy, Moon joy.