I vaguely remember once writing that, in my opinion, the only thing possibly more awesome than the queen parachuting out of a helicopter with James Bond was manned space flight. Of course I was being a little tongue in cheek, but I suppose there was a grain of truth to it: the exploration of space is humanity’s primary objective, and absolutely nothing can be more incredible.

That’s why I am so excited that we are returning to the moon. With the first unmanned Artemis mission scheduled for next week, things are about to get very cool indeed. To be honest I think the excitement I felt about Bond’s appearance at the Olympics or the reunion of Monty Python pales into insignificance when I think about what will soon unfold: the first manned extra orbital space mission in half a century; the sight of people once again walking on the moon, live before our eyes. As incredible as such events were, at least for me, humanity’s return to the moon will be on another level entirely. Surely it will be the most epic event in a generation, or even two, going far beyond any ceremony, festival or show possibly could. And the fact that the Artemis programme will be spaced out over fifteen years makes it even better; I can’t wait to watch these flights take place. It seems that I have something new to look forward to; something far more incredible than anything we’ve seen before.