PBS News Hour - Full Show How the Artemis moon missions are shaping the next era of exploration
Mar 20, 2026
Leroy Chiao, retired NASA astronaut and engineer, offers hands-on crewed flight and safety perspective. Casey Dreier, space policy lead at The Planetary Society, discusses why public-led missions matter. Miles O’Brien, long-time science correspondent, provides technical and historical context. They discuss Artemis mission plans, Orion heat-shield tests, using the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars, and funding and political challenges shaping exploration.
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Public Leadership Enables International Lunar Collaboration
- NASA leads Artemis to serve public interest by setting priorities and coordinating private industry and international partners.
- Partners include Japan, Europe, and Canada, which enables shared science and the first Canadian astronaut beyond Earth orbit.
Moon Missions Are Public Investments In Unpredictable Benefits
- Government-funded exploration funds basic research and unpredictable innovations that private markets won't pursue.
- Miles compares NASA-style investment to funding NIH or NSF, yielding long-term, sometimes unforeseeable societal benefits and STEM inspiration.
Moon Serves As A Practical Rehearsal For Mars
- Leroy Chiao recounts choosing the moon as a rehearsal site because it's only days away versus months to Mars, allowing quicker rescue and reduced mission risk.
- He frames lunar work as risk reduction and testing ground for in situ resource use like extracting water from ice.