00:00I think our generation appreciates having a program that
00:05now we get a chance to take our own moonshots, what we call great things that humans accomplish.
00:10NASA's Artemis program is the Space Agency's ambitious mission to send humans
00:15back to the moon for the first time in more than half a century.
00:18It has a start...
00:20The last time NASA sent humans to the moon, they were locked in a space radio.
00:25This time NASA wants to go back to the moon to stay.
00:30In order to learn how to live sustainably off of the lunar surface.
00:34I'm Christina Koch and I...
00:35I'm a mission specialist on Artemis II.
00:37I'm Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist, Peter Glover, Artemis II.
00:40I'm an Artemis II pilot.
00:41Reed Wiseman, crew member on Artemis II.
00:43The Artemis II crew is very...
00:45pretty much a crew of firsts.
00:47It will include the first person of color and the first woman.
00:50to travel around the moon and into deep space.
00:53And it will also have the first Canadian to do this.
00:55the same.
00:56Just yesterday, our crew did a sim, all four of us.
00:59And this is...
01:00something we'll do over and over again on the way to flight.
01:02But there are...
01:03there are a thousand ways this vehicle could kill you.
01:05in space.
01:06And we don't get trained on, you know, every single one of those.
01:09We get...
01:10we get trained on a methodology to approach the problem.
01:14The moon...
01:15the moon is a great proving ground for us to operate off of our planet.
01:18We've been doing it over two decades.
01:20from the International Space Station.
01:21We built a global coalition for low Earth orbit.
01:24And now...
01:25we need to extrapolate that to the moon as we set our sights out on Mars.
01:29Four stage engines...
01:30prior to Artemis 2, NASA launched the very first major mission in the Artemis program.
01:35called Artemis 1, which sent the Orion crew capsule around the moon to demonstrate...
01:40that they could work without a crew on board.
01:42Now it's time to show that they can actually keep a crew...
01:45alive while traveling to deep space.
01:47Our goal is get to the moon and get back four days out.
01:50four days back.
01:51We are going to do as much science as we can on the way.
01:53And on the far side of the moon, we're going to...
01:55have maybe 45 minutes where we're in a loss of calm with Earth.
01:58And all we can do is just...
02:00crane our eyes on that moon's surface.
02:04The entire Artemis...
02:05program has come under significant criticism for how much time it's taking to build.
02:10and how much money it's costing the taxpayer.
02:13There is an estimate that between...
02:152012...
02:16and 2025...
02:17the Artemis program has cost...
02:19roughly...
02:2093 billion dollars.
02:2193 billion dollars.
02:22Despite the criticism, it does benefit...
02:2493 billion dollars.
02:25Despite the criticism, it does benefit...
02:25from strong congressional support.
02:27Many of the programs that are needed for Artemis.
02:30are spread across the entire United States...
02:32and provide a lot of jobs for constituents.
02:35While the Artemis 2 mission is coming up, Artemis 3...
02:40Artemis 4...
02:41Artemis 5...
02:42are all a bit of open question marks at the moment.
02:45There's development that needs to happen for hardware...
02:48notably with the landers that will...
02:50actually take the humans to the surface of the moon.
02:53NASA is pulling out all...
02:55all the stops with its contractors...
02:57to ensure that a landing occurs...
02:59no later...
03:00higher than 2028...
03:01but...
03:02it remains to be seen...
03:03if that date will actually be possible.
03:05NASA stands at something of a crossroads these days...
03:09for...
03:10much of its history...
03:11the agency has been the one to oversee the development...
03:14and...
03:15hopefully fund the development...
03:16of most of its major hardware...
03:18but there's been a big push lately...
03:19to train...
03:20to transfer a lot of that work...
03:21to the private sector...
03:22and to the commercial companies...
03:24that are revolutionizing...
03:25the space industry...
03:26the Artemis 2 mission...
03:28comes...
03:29just as NASA gets...
03:30a new administrator...
03:31I grew up as...
03:32the ultimate NASA fan...
03:34billionaire and...
03:35fintech entrepreneur...
03:36Jared Isaacman...
03:37who actually has...
03:38an extensive resume...
03:39with Space...
03:40America will return to the moon...
03:42before our great rival...
03:43and we will establish...
03:44an enduring presence...
03:45to understand...
03:46and realize...
03:47the scientific...
03:48economic...
03:49and national security value...
03:50on the lunar surface...
03:50lawmakers...
03:51and industry officials...
03:52have warned...
03:53that if China...
03:54were to send humans...
03:55to the moon...
03:55before NASA returns...
03:57the country...
03:58could stage something...
03:59of a lunar land grab...
04:00that would prevent...
04:01NASA from exploring...
04:02the lunar surface...
04:03as fully as possible...
04:05and from the Pensacare...
04:08help humans...
04:09It says...
04:10punch...
04:11I think?
04:12how much...
04:13it applies to...
04:14ritch margin...
04:15I really love...
04:16that might...
04:18a little bit over...
04:19getting it back...
04:20yeah...
04:21you guys...
04:22the way...
04:23the moment...
04:24I really need to...
04:25get excited...
04:26have a great...
04:27have fun...
04:29nag...
04:30the departure...
04:31the flight...
04:32me...
04:33it was...
04:34by looking at the rapid pace of technology development.
04:39Leaps right now is, I think it's distinctly possible.
04:44Within the next few years, I'll leave it that vague.
04:47Just the fact that that's possible in this time.
04:49And that that effort grew out of our commercial crew program in sending cars.
04:54And then people to the space station on top of Falcons and then Crew Dragons.
04:59It's just a great time, a golden age of human space exploration.
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