Showing posts with label Sputnik-1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sputnik-1. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

From Sputnik 1 and Yuri Gagarin to Artemis II: The Socialist Origins of Spaceflight

By Nikos Mottas

The ongoing Artemis II mission—set to carry humans once again into lunar orbit—marks a significant moment for contemporary space exploration. It reflects accumulated technological progress, decades of experience, and renewed ambition. 

But if we are serious about understanding how humanity reached this point, we cannot begin the story here. The road to Artemis did not start in the 21st century nor in the laboratories of private corporations. It began in a very different political and social context: with the first socialist state in history, the Soviet Union.