The Story Artemis II: NASA’s plan for the Moon and beyond
Apr 1, 2026
Kaya Burgess, Times science reporter on-site at Cape Kennedy, and Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut with 520+ days in space, discuss Artemis II. They unpack why we are back at the Moon. They cover lunar science and resources, mission hardware and trajectories, safety and delays, geopolitics and commercial players, and how the Moon fits into plans for Mars.
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Feeling The Vastness Beyond Low Earth Orbit
- Scott Kelly describes how being farther from Earth, like around the Moon, feels dramatically different than low Earth orbit.
- He compares the Moon's distance to a soccer ball analogy: the ISS is an inch off the ball while the Moon is 10 feet away, highlighting the psychological and sensory difference.
Artemis II Crew And Record Deep Space Flight
- Artemis II will carry four crew members on a crewed test flight thousands of miles past the Moon, farther than any humans have gone.
- Kaya Burgess lists the crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (first woman to travel to the Moon), and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
Anticipate Delays For First Crewed Flights
- Expect schedule slips for new human-rated rockets because of testing and weather; teams will only launch when the vehicle and crew are ready.
- Artemis missed its original February window due to fuel leaks found in a wet dress rehearsal and required rolling back to fix issues.