CBS Mornings

Artemis II astronauts join "CBS Mornings" for a special live hour Friday

Updated on: May 1, 2026 / 7:01 AM EDT / CBS News

CBS News Things That Matter: A Town Hall with the Artemis Astronauts

For 10 days, we tracked four astronauts on an epic moon mission, holding our breaths as they launched, listening along to their wake-up songs, celebrating as they broke a record and watching the emotional moment that they named a crater for their commander's late wife.

Now the Artemis II crew is joining "CBS Mornings" Earth-side for a special live town hall.

"Artemis II: A Celebration of Heroes," moderated by "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King and "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil, aired from 7:30a-8:30a ET/PT on Friday, May 1, featuring special guests and a few surprises.

The crew — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — appeared before an audience of the next generation of space explorers to take questions from students.

NASA's Artemis II astronauts, who broke records during their flight around the moon, join CBS News for a town hall special on Friday, May 1. Ashley Landis/AP

Jack, the viral 5-year-old aspiring astronaut from Atlanta who spoke with CBS News during coverage of the launch, takes part and gets a special surprise.

The town hall also features appearances by the award-winning director of "Apollo 13," Ron Howard, and Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," who is chief ambassador of The Planetary Society.

Watch the full episode, "Things That Matter: A Town Hall with the Artemis Astronauts," here. Or watch it on demand on the CBS News YouTube channel and Paramount+.