Jon Liedtke joins Gene Valaitis on 610 CKTB to discuss The Artemis II mission and how it represents a significant pivot in space exploration, moving beyond the “reruns” of low-Earth orbit into a bold new franchise. By reaching a record-breaking distance of 406,000 kilometers from Earth, the crew has provided an existential “zoom-out,” capturing a stunning 4K earthrise that reframes our domestic squabbles as petty within the vast, cold universe. This mission serves as a critical stress test for deep-space survival, proving that humanity can master the logistics of life support and radiation shielding required for the eventual journey to Mars.
Canada plays a vital role as a co-pilot in this journey, demonstrating significant geopolitical soft power and G7 legitimacy. The Moon is no longer just a destination but is being transformed into a “lunar gateway” and a functional gas station to harvest fuel, water, and ice for future interplanetary travel. Despite high-tech milestones, the mission faced relatable human hurdles, such as a broken toilet and Microsoft Outlook failures, proving that even at the edge of the galaxy, a solid IT support ticket is still a necessity.
Transcription (Gemini Generated):
Gene Valaitis: Jon Liedtke is joining us this morning. Good morning, Joh.
Jon Liedtke: Good morning, Gene.
Gene Valaitis: Uh, we’re going to talk a little bit about the Artemis mission in space. Yesterday, the crew hit 406,000 kilometers from Earth. We’ve never done that before. Uh, they’re the first human beings to see the dark side of the moon. Um, you’re saying this is a reboot phase of space travel into a new franchise. Explain that.
Jon Liedtke: We’ve been trapped watching reruns for 50 years. NASA has been operating sort of like Disney, churning out safe, familiar things for, uh, you know, the past 50 years: low-Earth orbit content, because the risk-reward ratio favored status quo. But we’re pivoting with Artemis II. This is the moment that we’re really going forward. By hitting 406,000 kilometers, it’s not just a remake of Apollo 11 for a TikTok audience. It’s officially entering a new phase. This is not just a new mission; it’s the beginning of the next chapter of humanity’s history by going further than ever before.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah, I like how you call it the bottle episode. So, how does seeing an earthrise in 4K change our national psyche about space travel?
Jon Liedtke: Well, on Earth we’ve been trapped in the permanent bottle episode, which is a fixed film set. It’s a way that movies and TV saves money by not doing things outside of one room or one specific area. We’ve been so obsessed by what’s going on down here that we forget that we’re just a speck in a broader universe. Seeing this earthrise in 4K is, it’s the most existential zoom-out that we can do. It’s remarkably difficult to maintain the fever pitch of our domestic and international squabbles when you realize that we’re just an iridescent marble suspended in a cold, dark universe. This is an international ego death that is being imposed upon all of us. We’re all part of a much larger multipart epic.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah, Jeremy Hansen, as I mentioned on the latest on the news, Trump gave him a message—Wayne Gretzky—yesterday. But what’s it mean for Canada to be a co-pilot on this ultimate road trip?
Jon Liedtke: Well, we have a hand in writing the next chapter of humanity. This is a masterclass in Canadian soft power as well. When he was up there, he said, “Pour faire de grandes choses, ça prend une grande équipe.” Excuse my French. He said, “To do great things, it takes a great team.” Talk about that. It’s just, it’s not just a nod to bilingualism; this is a geopolitical flex. He’s the first astronaut en route to the moon to speak French. It’s a pointed reminder that it takes a great team to work hard while we’re so dysfunctional down here on Earth, but it also shows that we’re a legitimate G7 player. While I saw there was polling in the Globe and Mail that says that we’re ready to become part of the EU, we don’t need to become part of the EU. Canada is a co-pilot on the most significant mission in humanity’s history right now. We should start acting like it.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah. Um, you’re calling this mission a lunar gateway. So, I guess I have to ask the question: is the moon about to become the gas station for Mars?
Jon Liedtke: It sure is. This is where we’re going to be harvesting the fuel, the water, the ice. The supplies are going to be transported there. It’s going to be an asymmetric haul from Earth to Moon, then to Mars. Once that gateway is operational, the moon stops being the destination and it becomes the infrastructure that makes the solar system commutable. So, yeah, it’s a gas station.
Gene Valaitis: So, the Mars endgame: how does this specific record-breaking distance prepare us for the endgame of becoming a multi-planetary species, I guess we could say?
Jon Liedtke: Well, I mean, this is the endgame calibration. To get to Mars, we’ve got to prove that we can survive the space without the luxury of a quick U-turn. Breaking this distance is a stress test for life support, radiation shielding, and for, you know, sanity, quite frankly. And we have shown that they’re learning to coexist in a reality where home is a three-day trek away. If humanity can master about 500,000 kilometers, it’s no longer just a dream; it’s actually setting a course.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah. You know, I didn’t really get into the whole Artemis thing when it was being announced, you know, “We’re going to the moon.” I kept saying, “We’re not going to the moon, we’re doing a drive-by.” But, you know what, the deeper the mission got, the more excited I got. And I was pretty thrilled to see these new photographs. But, uh, you also talk about the home alone effect when you argue that we’ve been home alone on Earth for too long. What do you mean by that?
Jon Liedtke: Well, you know, it feels like we’re so hyper-fixated on the internal rot because we don’t have any external horizon. We need to be able to, again, zoom out to be able to see what actually we are. It makes our small squabbles seem very, very petty. And that’s what every astronaut says when they look down on Earth and they realize just how small we are in a broader universe.
Gene Valaitis: I wonder what happens to our domestic problems when we finally, as you say, leave the house.
Jon Liedtke: Yeah. Well, I mean, we start to realize how petty they are, and we can hopefully finally start to realize that we need to collectively work together. I hate to, uh, quote Independence Day, but, or not quote it, but reference it, but we saw that, you know, in the movie, humanity came together because of a great existential, uh, issue to fight, you know, for humanity. I would hope that maybe one day we can get to that point where we realize that our squabbles down here are quite minor, whether they’re over culture, religion, or race, uh, socioeconomic class, whatever they are, and we can start to focus on the bigger things.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah. I love that you always have a philosophical message and you always relate it to a movie in every story that you tell on, on the show here. But, you know what, they have, they have problems up in space just like we do. The toilet broke and Microsoft Outlook failed.
Jon Liedtke: It was the first toilet that they ever used that wasn’t just, um, like a full suction cup model, so, uh, it had some problems, uh, one, two times, but they were able to get it fixed. Microsoft Outlook broke. The astronaut called down to Houston, it was the first message, and he said, “I’ve got two Outlooks open and they’re both not working.” But he was able to put in the support ticket with IT. They got it working. If they can do it from 500,000 kilometers, you can call up IT to get your computer working as well. What a great ad for Microsoft as well. No matter where you are in the galaxy, we’ll get your email to you.
Gene Valaitis: Except no plumber can go up to space. No, no, they can’t. See, that’s why I always say, “Parents, get your kids to go to a trade school.” Plumbers, they retire early and they make a fortune.
Jon Liedtke: Absolutely.
Gene Valaitis: Jon, thanks so much for your wild look at world events. Always love having you on the show.
Jon Liedtke: Thank you so much, Gene.
Gene Valaitis: We’ll talk to you again, probably next Tuesday.
Jon Liedtke: Hope so.
Gene Valaitis: There he goes. Jon Liedtke, great storyteller here on the show. He always does an interesting look at what the rest of us are looking at, and it’s usually much different than most of us.
This aired on 610 CKTB
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