Artemis II Just Showed Us the Future And the Kids Watching Right Now Are the Ones Who Will Build It

Hey there, fellow dreamers.

You feel it too, right? That electric buzz in the air after watching the Artemis II crew splash down yesterday (April 10, 2026). Four incredible astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — just completed humanity’s first crewed journey around the Moon in over fifty years. They traveled farther than anyone since Apollo, saw the far side of the Moon with their own eyes, and came home with stories that still have us all staring up at the sky in wonder.

And then, in their first public remarks after splashdown, they said things that hit straight in the heart.

They talked about the overwhelming beauty of Earth from deep space. About how the blackness around our planet made them feel both tiny and deeply connected. About the bond they forged as a crew and how grateful they were to be home.

Yeah… no. This wasn’t just another spaceflight. This was the first real step into the Artemis era — the bridge that takes us from the Moon to Mars.

Think about that for a second.

If we’re building a sustainable base on the Moon in the next 5–10 years, then Mars isn’t some far-off dream anymore. It’s the next logical stop. And the kids who are 10 years old right now? They’ll be 20 to 25 when the first crews start living and working on the Red Planet.

These are the kids who will build the very first city on Mars.

Not just astronauts.

We’re going to need engineers who can design habitats that survive dust storms and radiation. Scientists who figure out how to grow food in toxic soil. Inventors who turn ice into drinking water and create orbital mirrors to warm the planet. Artists, storytellers, and dreamers who keep everyone’s spirits alive when the nights get long. Mechanics, teachers, doctors, builders, and yes — even kids who are “too much,” “too intense,” and whose brains live three galaxies ahead of everyone else.

Because those are exactly the brains we’re going to need.

And that’s why I wrote Rise of the Explorers.

Marsus is the kid who gets called “a lot.” The one whose inventions explode in his face. The one who blurts out the impossible question in the middle of a lecture about how the surface is doomed forever. But when a human ship crashes in his backyard, his wild ideas, his never-give-up heart, and his ability to see solutions no one else can imagine suddenly become the exact things the mission needs.

This book is for every kid watching Artemis II right now and feeling that spark.

It’s for the ones who feel different. The ones whose brains race ahead. The ones who already know, deep down, that they were born to explore.

Because the Artemis era isn’t just about going back to the Moon. It’s about building the future — and the future needs every single one of you exactly as you are.

So if your kid can’t stop talking about the splashdown, hand them Rise of the Explorers. Let Marsus, Blorp, and Oppy show them that being “weird” isn’t something to fix. It’s the rocket fuel that gets us to Mars.

Free first chapter waiting right here → [marsusuniverse.com/free-chapter]

The stars are calling. And the kids watching today? They’re the ones who are going to answer.

Let’s raise the generation that actually makes it happen. The weird, wonderful, unstoppable ones.

With all my heart,

-Julie (and Marsus, who’s probably already sketching orbital mirrors in the margins) 🚀✨