Science Weekly Does going to the moon still matter?
10 snips
Mar 31, 2026 
Jan Wörner, former ESA director who led major space programs; Ross Andersen, Atlantic writer on space and culture; Ian Sample, science editor at The Guardian. They discuss Artemis II and NASA timelines. They compare lunar and Martian missions. They debate Apollo’s cultural legacy, the science goals at lunar poles, the push for sustained international cooperation, and the politics shaping modern lunar plans.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Teenage Apollo Moment That Shaped A Career
- Jan Wörner remembered watching Apollo at age 15 and deciding to pursue engineering after staying up all night following the landing.
- He said the event left him sleepless and inspired him to become a civil engineer to 'do something which nobody did before.'
Moon Landings Diminished The Moon's Mystique
- Norman Mailer saw Apollo as a triumph of machines and worried it created a sterile, technocratic view that diminished the moon's mystique.
- Ross Andersen and Ian Sample noted cultural critics feared the moon lost its enchantment as close-up images and human visits made it a 'dead rock.'
Apollo Was Driven By Cold War Politics
- Apollo succeeded because of a political race with the Soviet Union, and once that goal was achieved the political imperative vanished.
- Ian Sample argues without that political cause, nations struggle to justify the enormous cost of moon missions.