Artemis II could take humans farther than they've ever gone before

For the first time in more than 50 years, NASA is set to launch astronauts to the moon. NASA, as part of the upcoming Artemis II mission, plans to send four astronauts on a flight around the far side of the moon. The crew could fly deeper into space than any humans ever before, about 250,000 miles from Earth.

The mission is seen as a critical stepping stone toward getting astronauts back on the moon, establishing a sustained presence there and using it as a gateway to future Mars missions. 

Mission commander Reid Wideman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch have spent years training in simulators, learning to live and work inside the cramped Orion capsule.

Even with all the preparation and training, lead flight director Jeff Radigan is expecting the unexpected, noting that something comes up on every mission. Radigan has great confidence in the Artemis II mission and crew, but if something goes awry, he will have the lives of four astronauts on his hands. There will be about 40 minutes when the crew will be unable to contact Earth during the mission. 

"It's a heavy weight, and I think about that every day. You know, my job is to bring Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy home safely," Radigan said. "These are my colleagues, these are my friends and they're my responsibility."

NASA's years of work to get back to the moon

NASA, established in 1958, spent many of its early years in a Cold War space race. The Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 in 1957. The U.S. forged ahead with its own operations, landing Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969. 

In 2017, President Trump formally called for the U.S. to return to the moon, leading to the formation of the Artemis program.

Artemis I, an unmanned mission, soared into space in November of 2022. It was a full-system test flight to prove the single-use, Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule, designed to carry a crew, was ready for human-use. The Artemis I Orion capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific, but on inspection, engineers found the heat shield was damaged on re-entry, though the interior of the capsule was not. 

When asked if there is a level of concern about the heat shield during the Artemis II mission, Wiseman said, "You're hitting Earth's atmosphere at roughly 39 to 40 times the speed of sound. There is concern."

But he noted the Artemis II entry trajectory will be modified to be safer for the crew. "We're actually gonna come in a little bit hotter, a little bit faster than Artemis I. And based on the issues that we had with the heat shield, that will keep us safe," he said.

Artemis II, a lunar fly-by mission, was set to launch in 2024, but was pushed to 2025, and then pushed again to this year. NASA's goal is for the next Artemis mission, which will put astronauts back on the moon, to take place in 2028.

The 21st century space race

While NASA's early years were marked by a Cold War space race, the 21st century space race has the U.S. competing primarily with China, which is planning a lunar landing by 2030.

"So many countries right now are realizing the value in what we can bring back by going to the moon: the industry gains, the knowledge gains, the scientific gains, the inspiration gains," Koch said. "There's so much to gain that I'm happy that we are leading the way back."

During his December confirmation hearing, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stressed the significance of NASA's lunar missions. 

"We are in a great competition with a rival that has the will and means to challenge American exceptionalism across multiple domains, including in the high ground of space. This is not the time for delay, but for action, because if we fall behind--if we make a mistake--we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth," he said.

Artemis II is meant to lay the groundwork for future Artemis missions that will put Americans back on the moon and establish a lunar space station. The four Artemis II astronauts will sling around the far side of the moon in the Orion capsule just about 5,000 miles above its surface before heading back home. This mission is to test whether the SLS, Orion's life-support systems and crew controls work as designed.

Jim Bridenstine, who was NASA administrator during Mr. Trump's first term and launched the Artemis program, told Congress in September that America's moon landing system has grown too complicated.

"It is highly unlikely that we will land on the moon before China," Bridenstine said to Congress. 

It would be "massively embarrassing" for the U.S. if China got people back on the moon before the U.S., according to Scott Pace, who was executive secretary of the National Space Council during Mr. Trump's first term, and helped NASA develop Artemis.

But Pace said establishing a presence on the moon is what's really important, while who gets there first this century is not. 

"I don't downplay the embarrassment and bad headlines and everything else that would come from the Chinese, you know, returning to the moon before we're able to do so," Pace said. "That said, from a longer term strategic approach, that is a relatively short news story, whereas who sets the rules for the space domain, who is there permanently, that's a story for the next century."

Missions plagued by delays and cost concerns 

Competition with China should force NASA to rethink its unwieldy and expensive approach, Pace said. The agency spends more than $2 billion on each single-use SLS rocket, while private companies, he said, are pursuing a more sustainable path. Elon Musk's SpaceX, for example, has demonstrated reusable components for a decade. 

NASA is working with private companies for key aspects of the Artemis program. In 2021, the space agency awarded a nearly $3 billion contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX for the lunar lander version of its Super Heavy-Starship, the most-powerful launch vehicle ever built. 

After several setbacks and explosions, SpaceX rebounded with successful Starship launches this past August and October. But the setbacks and technical complexity have contributed to the delay in America's return to the moon. 

The massive SpaceX Starship lander, designed to carry astronauts and cargo to the moon's surface during planned upcoming missions, will have to be refueled in space. It will be a complex process that could require the launch of 10 or more fuel tankers. Nothing like this has ever been done before. 

With the complexity and delays, NASA has doubts SpaceX can meet the president's timeframe and is seeking a Plan B.

Working with Blue Origin 

NASA in 2023 signed a $3.4 billion contract with Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos. The space agency tapped the company to develop a human lunar lander for the Artemis V mission. With the Artemis program behind schedule, NASA is pressing contractors to pick up the pace. 

In November, Blue Origin sent its powerful New Glenn rocket into orbit and returned the booster to a platform in the Atlantic — a first for the company. And on Friday, Blue Origin announced at least a two-year pause of its space tourism flights to focus on moon missions. 

John Couluris, Blue Origin's senior vice president of lunar permanence, showed 60 Minutes the first and smaller iteration of the company's lander — the Mark 1. The unmanned, almost 30-foot-tall cargo lander will be Blue Origin's first vehicle to land on the moon. 

Later this year, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket will carry the Mark 1 into space to descend to the south pole of the moon, Couluris said. For now, Couluris is looking forward to seeing the Artemis II mission launch.

"Artemis II represents that first effort in decades of deep space exploration of humans," Couluris said. "I can't wait for them to go."