13 Minutes

After 9 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes and 15 seconds and 1.1 million kilometres of travel, the Orion “Integrity” probe splashed down successfully on April 11th at 00:07:32 UTC (GMT).

Tim Peake, Maggie Aderin, Kristin Fisher, Rebecca Morelle and the 13 Minutes podcast touches down with this episode. We are also joined by Nasa legend and former shuttle astronaut, Dr Anna Fisher to reflect on the mission.

13 Minutes Presents: A...

The Artemis II mission hurtles towards re-entry and splashdown. The 13 Minutes crew run through the schedule that includes 28,864 mph, searing heat, 11 parachutes, and 3.9g forces.

Long-time Nasa scientist Dr Phil Metzger talks about the issue of AVCOAT – the ablative coating that will shield the capsule’s flat underside. And we also talk about his work at Nasa’s “Swamp Works” where much was studied abo...

The Artemis II crew are getting ever closer to home and preparing for re-entry.

Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher, who shares the latest updates from the mission. Plus, we answer more of your burning questions.

And Dr Kelsey Young, lead science officer and lunar science lead for Artemis II, shares her excitement about the crew’s lunar observations so far....

After all the excitement of the lunar fly-by, the Artemis II crew are taking a breather, and have a long-distance call with the astronauts on board the International Space Station. Besides the Artemis II and ISS crews, there are other humans up in space too. China’s Tiangong space station is currently home to three taikonauts. Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin F...

It’s been a busy 24 hours for the Artemis II crew. They have completed a lunar fly-by, surpassed the furthest distance humans have ever travelled from planet Earth, gone through a communications black out period, and witnessed a lunar eclipse.

Host space scientist Maggie Aderin is joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher who, like many of us, stayed up to watch the fly-by. And BBC News science editor Rebecca Morelle calls in...

Now thoroughly within the lunar gravitational sphere of influence, Artemis II’s crew perform final preparations for the flyby and nearest approach. Very shortly they will break the human distance record from earth.

But listeners ask, why will they go further than Apollo 13 went?

They will shortly be the only people to see a unique solar eclipse, survey parts of the lunar far side never gazed upon with human eyes, and enter a co...

With the toilet venting problem endangering the spacecraft Integrity’s Michelin rating, BBC Science Editor Rebecca Morelle drops by to update us on the unmentionables. The team answer more listeners questions; what do we mean by zero-g, and will there ever be permanent relay satellites around the moon to prevent the forthcoming communications blackout?

Tim Peake, Kristin Fisher and Maggie Aderin discuss the impact on mission ...

Nasa’s Artemis II crew are now closer to the Moon than they are to Earth. Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher, who gives us the latest on the crew’s momentous journey, as the Integrity spacecraft begins its gentle deceleration before the point when the moon’s gravity starts pulling it more strongly than the earth’s.

And the team answer a qu...

The loop round the Moon target is confirmed by the last major engine burn of the mission. It’s the first time the European Service Module engine has been used this way.

Sian Cleaver of Airbus Defence and Space, who has been central to the construction of the service module joins Tim, Maggie and Kristin to talk about flapping solar panels and future, even more ambitious, Artemis missions.

Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer and ...

The moment we’ve all been waiting for… Nasa’s Artemis II mission has launched.

Next up is the big decision whether to commit to the lunar flyby and the big engine burn that will need. Testing systems and life-support continues, with engine burns slowly lifting the height of the earth orbit, raising the speed at which the Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) leap into history can begin.

Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer an...

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen talks to the BBC before his first space launch on Artemis II. What will lift-off be like and how will he feel? He joins BBC Science Editor Rebecca Morelle and our host, astronaut Tim Peake, as we move ever closer to the historic mission around the Moon. Space scientist and host Maggie Aderin will also give her insight, with just hours to go before the expected launch. The team are joined by space journalist ...

Nasa’s Artemis II mission looks set to launch towards the Moon on April 1st, after months of delays.

Presenters Tim Peake and Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher, who has just touched down in Florida. Kristin fills us in on the latest from the Kennedy Space Center and how the countdown to launch is looking.

And we take a more detailed look at the machine standing ready on launchpad 39B. We’re joine...

Nasa’s Artemis II mission looks set to launch towards the Moon on April 1st, after months of delays. Presenters Tim Peake and Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher and BBC News Science Editor Rebecca Morelle for the latest updates from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

And more than 50 years on from the last lunar crewed mission, why is Nasa returning to the Moon now? And what is the international con...

The countdown is on to 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II, following Nasa’s mission to loop around the Moon. We’ll have an Artemis II episode every day. Nasa is hoping to return to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. The story of Artemis II will be told by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock, British astronaut Tim Peake, and US space journalist Kristin Fisher. Strap yourself in for another epic journe...

The space shuttle is back. Discovery stands waiting on launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. It has taken more than two years to get here. Nasa has listened and changed. After all these months of work, this should be one of the safest missions ever flown.

But as Discovery finally rises skyward, the Challenger disaster is on everyone’s mind. There are unspoken questions about the very future of spaceflight.

Some scenes in thi...

Is human spaceflight worth the risk? It’s a time of soul searching for the whole shuttle crew. The space shuttle programme is put on hold for two years, as Nasa and the team come to terms with what happened.

Some leave but others stay on board to help. The shuttle team work to rebuild Nasa and the programme. But some ask the question: what is it all for?

Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.

13 Minutes Presen...

The Challenger tragedy shocks a nation, as millions watch on TV screens across the USA.

Something has gone catastrophically wrong with the launch of space shuttle mission STS-51L. As they watch a fireball engulf the spacecraft, nobody in mission control has any idea what went wrong. Could it have been prevented?

We turn back the clock to a meeting the day before the launch which might have changed everything.

This episode contains...

Nasa needs to kick-start new interest in the space shuttle. After multiple missions, public attention is waning and funding could suffer. Nasa want to do something about it. And come up with an innovative plan.

How about recruiting an astronaut from the classroom? The first teacher on a space mission. Nasa runs a competition, and the winner is Christa McAuliffe, a 36-year-old social studies teacher from New Hampshire. But has she go...

Can the crew rescue the million-dollar space satellite lost in orbit? Two car-sized satellites, worth $75 million each, are stranded in space. Five astronauts have been selected to bring them back. It’s something that has never been attempted before.

In outer space, even the simplest of tasks can be a challenge, let alone trying to snatch a satellite from orbit. And right when the crew think they’ve got it all under cont...