The long return

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Up next: Returning to the moon.

When NASA’s Artemis II mission launches, it will mark a new and historic chapter for America’s space program, moving it one step closer to putting humans back on the moon.

The unmanned Artemis One launched in 2022 and proved that NASA’s new Orion Spacecraft and new Space Launch System could withstand the harsh conditions of space.

Now Artemis II will build on that, taking humans outside of low–Earth orbit.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s also a chapter in a new space race: The United States working to stay ahead of China, which expects to plant its own flag on the moon in 2030.

WORLD’s Mary Muncy reports.

MARY MUNCY: NASA is planning to launch four astronauts farther into space than any human has ever gone. They'll ride the rocket first to low-Earth orbit to perform tests, and then to high-Earth orbit about two hours after launch.  

Mission Specialist Christina Koch: 

CHRISTINA KOCH: We're going to stay in an amazing high orbit, reaching a peak of tens of thousands of miles while we test out all the systems on Orion and even see how it maneuvers in space. And then, if everything looks good, we're heading to the moon.

Artemis II was supposed to launch at the beginning of February, but NASA scrubbed the attempt after discovering a hydrogen leak. Engineers fixed that problem, but then found a helium flow issue that forced them to roll the rocket back for repairs and delay the launch to April. 

NASA says it’s the first step toward putting a sustained human presence on the moon.

NASA’s acting associate administrator Lori Glaze:

LORI GLAZE: We are on a trajectory to land our crew on the moon at the south pole by 2028, and I think that puts us ahead of any others (countries) that are trying to land crew on the moon.

It would also be the first time humans have set foot on the moon since 1972.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy. 

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