September 24, 2025 • 15 mins
In just a few months time, four NASA astronauts will embark on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
Artemis II is scheduled to take off in February next year for a ten-day trip around the moon ahead of a crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2027.
It comes amid what’s been dubbed “the second space race,” as the U.S. and China push to get back to the moon first.
Today, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the Artemis mission, why NASA wants to go to the moon, and why it’s taken them so long to get back there.
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Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ready, and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is the Daly OS.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty fifth of September. I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Billy
fit Simons. In just a few months time, four NASA
astronauts will embark on the first crude lunar mission since
nineteen seventy two.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Together, have a front row seat to history. We're returning
to the Moon after over fifty years.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Artemis two is scheduled to take off in February next
year for a ten day trip around the Moon, a
head of a crude mission to the lunar surface in
twenty twenty seven. It comes amid what's been dubbed the
Second Space Race, as the US and China push to
get back to.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
The Moon first.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Today we will explain everything you need to know about
the Artemis mission, why also wants to go to the Moon,
and why it's taken them so long to get back there.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
But before we get into today's deep dive, here is
a quick message from our sponsor.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Billy.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
If it's Ion's welcome back to the pod.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Thank you so much. I thought everyone forgot about me.
It has been more than a month since I've been
on the point.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
We could not forget about you. It's so exciting to
have you back.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh, I've missed you. I've missed recording into a purple
ball every day.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
That is nice of you to say, Billy, I know
it missed you, of course, and our listeners of course.
Of course. I know you've had a big trip. You're
back from that.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I've pretty much gone all around the world. But you
know where I didn't go Space. I missed the moon,
did not quite get there. So I'm very excited to
hear about it today.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
He's stolen my joke because I steering up to say, oh,
I'm so sorry, Billy. I know you just got back
from a big trip, but don't worry, because today I'm
going to take you to the moon.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Oh well, let's just return like I didn't ruin. That
is a great joke. It's very unpredictable. No one else
could have thought about it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Great mine thinking alike. That's why we needed you back.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Couldn't be back, so Emma. Today we are talking about
a pretty major announcement this week, which is that NASA
is going back to the Moon. I always find this
quite surprising that despite the big race to the Moon
nearly sixty or seventy years ago, now yep, we actually
haven't really been back since. So this is a pretty
(02:31):
big announcement.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Right exactly, And all things going smoothly. Astronauts are set
to land on the Moon by mid twenty twenty seven,
so in less than two years time. But before that happens,
we've got a mission called Artemis two that's going to
lift off in February next year.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And still's a ten day test flight.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
We will be launching four crew and them, along with
our ground teams, we are going to be working together
to execute this mission. This is a stepped approach, and
all that we learned from Artemis two we will build
upon there to prepare us for our first crew landing
on the surface of the Moon for Artemis three.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That was Lakeisha Hawkins speaking at a NASA press conference
this week.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
She is the acting Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA's Exploration
Systems Development Mission Directorate.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Try saying that ten times, and what you.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Would have heard there is that next year's mission is
a step towards putting actual astronauts back on the Moon.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Okay, So we have Artemis two, which is sending a
crew of astronauts on a mission around the Moon. That
is in feb next year, and then Artemis three will
be a mission on the Moon and that is in
mid twenty twenty seven, so in two years time. Yeah,
when was the last time a crew went to the Moon?
I know I said before, it was like sixty seventy
(03:50):
years ago, yes.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
So nearly. It was a little bit more recently than that.
It was nineteen seventy two. The last time humans traveled
to the Moon. That was the Apollo seventeen mission, over
fifty years ago now, and that was the final mission
of NASA's Apollo program. So that was the program that
took Neil Armstrong. I was going to say, so basic terms,
(04:12):
are we talking about Neil Armstrong? Yes, we are talking
about Neil Armstrong, But Apollo seventeen wasn't Neil Armstrong. So
even though we got to the Moon all those years ago,
there has not been people on the Moon since the seventies,
but there have been still space exploration missions and shuttles,
and the only things that have been on the Moon,
(04:32):
I suppose, are rovers. So even though Artemis TI, which
is the one coming up in February, isn't going to
involve astronauts stepping onto the lunar surface. It will carry
astronauts farther from Earth and closer to the Moon than
any human has been in over half a century.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Wow, why has it taken so long to get back there?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That's a really good question and it has a complicated answer.
So the official word from NASA is this is about
scientific discovery, economic benefits, inspiration for a new generation of explorers,
while quote maintaining American leadership in exploration. But the main
reasons why it's taken so long really come down to
politics and priorities. Space exploration is expensive, It is incredibly expensive,
(05:18):
so there needs to be not only a willingness from
the decision makers in government of the day, but also
a purpose behind making those big investments, a reason to
spend all that money. The Moon landing back in nineteen
sixty nine, Neil Armstrong buzz Aldron shout out that was
a Cold War era achievement. So America at that time
(05:38):
was in this race with the Soviet Union for space superiority.
America won that race in nineteen sixty nine with the
Apollo program, and that program was ended in the seventies
under US President Richard Nixon. Since then, NASA's priorities have
really changed depending on who was in the White House.
So it's been more than fifty years since the Apollo mission.
(06:00):
We have this generational gap in experience, which presents its
own challenges. But the Trump administration has the appetite to
put the Moon back on the agenda, and we saw
that both in President Trump's first term and now again
for this second term in office.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Okay, and so we now have the Artemis program under
the Trump administration. Can you break down what that actually involves.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes, So this is a Moon exploration program led by NASA,
which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
It's the United States Space Agency.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
That's definitely going to come up in a good weekend
quiz one time.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, exact nowly going to remember it, watch this space.
So Artemis was formally established in twenty seventeen. It's intended
to re establish a human presence on the Moon for
the first time since the Apollo seventeen mission, with this
stated long term goal to establish a permanent base on
the Moon and facilitate human missions to Mars. There are
(06:58):
several missions planned under the pro so Artemis two builds
on Artemis one, that was an uncrude mission in twenty
twenty two, and NASA said this second mission is about
demonstrating a broad range of capabilities needed four deep space missions,
and that will involve four astronauts venturing around the Moon
over ten days, three astronauts from NASA, a Canadian Space
(07:21):
Agency astronaut, and in that group is one woman astronaut.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
And so that's Artemis two, the one that's just going
I shouldn't say, just the one that is going around
the moon. Tell us about Artemis three, which is where
they plan to actually go on to the Moon again.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yes, Artemis three is expected to launch in mid twenty
twenty seven. That was the update from NASA this week.
It's a little bit sooner than we were expecting, but
this would be the first time humans have landed on
the Moon since the seventies, and it would be the
big one.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So Artemis two next year will be major.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's the closest we will have gotten to the Moon
in f something years. But that Artemis II mission is
when NASA will kind of execute the stages of its
plan to return to the Moon more frequently. It's looking
at yearly landings on the Moon with a goal to
establish a permanent presence there.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Okay, so we mentioned before that for about fifty or
so years, missions to the Moon have basically stopped, and
reasons for that are political and also they're expensive. But
now they are starting up again, And you said part
of the reason for that is the Trump administration. Why
exactly is the Trump administration interested in going back to
(08:37):
the Moon.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It has a lot to do with this idea of
the second space race. So if Apollo was NASA's attempt
to win the space race against Russia, Artemis is its
battle against China. So in July twenty twenty three, China's
space agency publicly announced a plan to land two astronauts
on the Moon by twenty thirty. Russia and China then
(09:01):
announced together that they're going to build a moon base together,
so this would be Russian Chinese infrastructure to get those
astronauts there, and it also formally invited more countries and
international organizations to join their International Research Station project as
this alternative to NASA's Artemis program. What's really interesting is
(09:22):
that China has already achieved some significant firsts in its race.
In June, a Chinese lunar land has successfully collected rocks
and soil from the far side of the Moon. That's
something that no other country had done, and it returned
them back to the Earth for study. So there is
kind of a broader geopolitical force really driving Artemis.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
So China is aiming for twenty thirty Artemis, the US
is aiming for twenty twenty seven. How realistic are these timelines?
Are we actually looking at a close race here? Could
China actually get there first?
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
This is an another interesting point to the whole story
because NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that this mid twenty
twenty seven goal is well ahead of the Chinese government's
announced intention, but experts aren't actually so sure that NASA
will be able to do it. To quote former NASA
administrator Jim Bridenstein, who told a Senate hearing this quote,
(10:22):
unless something changes, it's highly unlikely the US will beat
China's projected timeline. He cited concerns about the development of
SpaceX's starship, which will serve as the lunar lander, the
need for multiple refueling missions, and the general kind of
pressure on the scale of this project versus the cost,
(10:44):
the technology, the research, and all of the hours involved
in making it happen and making it happen safely.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
NASA experts did acknowledge.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
This need to kind of balance ambition and safety at
this week's Artemis press conference.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Here's a little bit of what was said. This administration.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Has us to acknowledge that we are indeed in a well,
you know what people have commonly called a second space race.
There is a desire for us to return to the
surface of the Moon and to be the first to
return to the surface of the Moon. With that being said,
NASA's objective, though, is to do so safely.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
And what's the strategic importance for the US or China
in getting to the moon first?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Like?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Why does it matter?
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So this surprised me because I didn't really get it either,
apart from it being a bit of a technological capability
demonstration and a bit of pride from each superpower on
wanting to flex that tech.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah, Like, is it just bragging rights that we're fighting
for here?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, there are deeper political consequences to consider, and they
actually have to do with the territory of the Moon,
the physical land on the Moon itself exactly. It sounds
a bit like Avatar, don't you reckon? Alan Cutler, who
is the president and CEO of the Coalition for Deep
Space Explorations, said, quote, the country that lands on the
(12:08):
Moon first will shape the rules of engagement in space
for decades to come. Cutler and other US officials are
basically concerned that if China gets there first, that there
could be competition over resources in space. That includes valuable
water ice that's thought to be locked up in craters
at the lunar South Pole, so Billy. The thinking is
(12:30):
that water on the Moon could be used to make
rocket fuel, to propel missions deeper into space, or to
sustain colonies of humans living on the Moon. And basically
China and the US want to be the ones to
get their hands on that water.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And so what I guess you're kind of hinting at
or explicitly saying, is that this is all building towards
missions to Mars.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Yeah, it's a pretty far out concept, but it's closer
than we think. The Artemis program has this stated long
term goal to establish a permanent base on the Moon
to facilitate missions to Mars. So we want to get
to the Moon not only to have access to that
water ice, but also as a kind of base for
(13:14):
missions to Mars, because from Earth to Mars, the refueling,
the specs around that at the moment are physically impossible.
The idea, though, is that the Moon becomes this kind
of testing ground, this stepping stone for the much more
challenging journey to Mars.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
And on that.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Base, hopefully, you know, NASA experts will learn how to
develop the technologies needed to get to Mars, how to
live and work in deep space environments, testing life support systems,
can they grow vegetables and food on the Mars surface,
all of that kind of stuff. But I do think
it's important to note that while this sounds exciting, both
(13:52):
the Chinese and American programs have faced delays. I would
take their timelines with a grain of salt. Space programs
are in credibly complex, and Artemis still has some significant
technical hurdles to overcome. So who knows who will win
the second space race. Will it be the US, will
it be China. Whatever happens, it feels like we're certainly
(14:13):
entering a new era of space exploration.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Do you know how close we are to getting to Mars.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I'd say we are about several thousand light years.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Oh, I was expecting more like human years. But light years,
I mean, I can never get my head around those.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But yeah, basically, we don't know how close we are
to Mars until we have.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
A presence on the moon. Exactly, got it. But do
you think it will be in our lifetime? I think
I think it will be in our lifetime. That will
be exciting.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I don't know if it will be in our lifetime
while we still have our.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Natural hair color. Okay, however, I'll take that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Although I'm not an astrophysicist, I'm not a rocket scientist,
so don't quote me on.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I will be you to everyone I know. I'll be
like Emma says, we're going to Mars in our lifetime, the.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Girl with the Bachelor of media says, we're going to Mars.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Emma, thank you for that breakdown. A bachelor in media
is all I need for you to be an expert
in space. Apparently, I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Thank you, Billy, and thank you to the real experts.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And that is all we have time for today's deep dive.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode. We'll
be back in your ears this afternoon with the headlines,
but until then, have a great day and thanks for
having me back.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bungelung Caalcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Ready, and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is the Daly OS.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty fifth of September. I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Billy
fit Simons. In just a few months time, four NASA
astronauts will embark on the first crude lunar mission since
nineteen seventy two.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Together, have a front row seat to history. We're returning
to the Moon after over fifty years.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Artemis two is scheduled to take off in February next
year for a ten day trip around the Moon, a
head of a crude mission to the lunar surface in
twenty twenty seven. It comes amid what's been dubbed the
Second Space Race, as the US and China push to
get back to.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
The Moon first.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Today we will explain everything you need to know about
the Artemis mission, why also wants to go to the Moon,
and why it's taken them so long to get back there.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
But before we get into today's deep dive, here is
a quick message from our sponsor.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Billy.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
If it's Ion's welcome back to the pod.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Thank you so much. I thought everyone forgot about me.
It has been more than a month since I've been
on the point.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
We could not forget about you. It's so exciting to
have you back.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh, I've missed you. I've missed recording into a purple
ball every day.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
That is nice of you to say, Billy, I know
it missed you, of course, and our listeners of course.
Of course. I know you've had a big trip. You're
back from that.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I've pretty much gone all around the world. But you
know where I didn't go Space. I missed the moon,
did not quite get there. So I'm very excited to
hear about it today.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
He's stolen my joke because I steering up to say, oh,
I'm so sorry, Billy. I know you just got back
from a big trip, but don't worry, because today I'm
going to take you to the moon.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Oh well, let's just return like I didn't ruin. That
is a great joke. It's very unpredictable. No one else
could have thought about it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Great mine thinking alike. That's why we needed you back.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Couldn't be back, so Emma. Today we are talking about
a pretty major announcement this week, which is that NASA
is going back to the Moon. I always find this
quite surprising that despite the big race to the Moon
nearly sixty or seventy years ago, now yep, we actually
haven't really been back since. So this is a pretty
(02:31):
big announcement.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Right exactly, And all things going smoothly. Astronauts are set
to land on the Moon by mid twenty twenty seven,
so in less than two years time. But before that happens,
we've got a mission called Artemis two that's going to
lift off in February next year.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And still's a ten day test flight.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
We will be launching four crew and them, along with
our ground teams, we are going to be working together
to execute this mission. This is a stepped approach, and
all that we learned from Artemis two we will build
upon there to prepare us for our first crew landing
on the surface of the Moon for Artemis three.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That was Lakeisha Hawkins speaking at a NASA press conference
this week.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
She is the acting Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA's Exploration
Systems Development Mission Directorate.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Try saying that ten times, and what you.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Would have heard there is that next year's mission is
a step towards putting actual astronauts back on the Moon.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Okay, So we have Artemis two, which is sending a
crew of astronauts on a mission around the Moon. That
is in feb next year, and then Artemis three will
be a mission on the Moon and that is in
mid twenty twenty seven, so in two years time. Yeah,
when was the last time a crew went to the Moon?
I know I said before, it was like sixty seventy
(03:50):
years ago, yes.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
So nearly. It was a little bit more recently than that.
It was nineteen seventy two. The last time humans traveled
to the Moon. That was the Apollo seventeen mission, over
fifty years ago now, and that was the final mission
of NASA's Apollo program. So that was the program that
took Neil Armstrong. I was going to say, so basic terms,
(04:12):
are we talking about Neil Armstrong? Yes, we are talking
about Neil Armstrong, But Apollo seventeen wasn't Neil Armstrong. So
even though we got to the Moon all those years ago,
there has not been people on the Moon since the seventies,
but there have been still space exploration missions and shuttles,
and the only things that have been on the Moon,
(04:32):
I suppose, are rovers. So even though Artemis TI, which
is the one coming up in February, isn't going to
involve astronauts stepping onto the lunar surface. It will carry
astronauts farther from Earth and closer to the Moon than
any human has been in over half a century.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Wow, why has it taken so long to get back there?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That's a really good question and it has a complicated answer.
So the official word from NASA is this is about
scientific discovery, economic benefits, inspiration for a new generation of explorers,
while quote maintaining American leadership in exploration. But the main
reasons why it's taken so long really come down to
politics and priorities. Space exploration is expensive, It is incredibly expensive,
(05:18):
so there needs to be not only a willingness from
the decision makers in government of the day, but also
a purpose behind making those big investments, a reason to
spend all that money. The Moon landing back in nineteen
sixty nine, Neil Armstrong buzz Aldron shout out that was
a Cold War era achievement. So America at that time
(05:38):
was in this race with the Soviet Union for space superiority.
America won that race in nineteen sixty nine with the
Apollo program, and that program was ended in the seventies
under US President Richard Nixon. Since then, NASA's priorities have
really changed depending on who was in the White House.
So it's been more than fifty years since the Apollo mission.
(06:00):
We have this generational gap in experience, which presents its
own challenges. But the Trump administration has the appetite to
put the Moon back on the agenda, and we saw
that both in President Trump's first term and now again
for this second term in office.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Okay, and so we now have the Artemis program under
the Trump administration. Can you break down what that actually involves.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes, So this is a Moon exploration program led by NASA,
which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
It's the United States Space Agency.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
That's definitely going to come up in a good weekend
quiz one time.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, exact nowly going to remember it, watch this space.
So Artemis was formally established in twenty seventeen. It's intended
to re establish a human presence on the Moon for
the first time since the Apollo seventeen mission, with this
stated long term goal to establish a permanent base on
the Moon and facilitate human missions to Mars. There are
(06:58):
several missions planned under the pro so Artemis two builds
on Artemis one, that was an uncrude mission in twenty
twenty two, and NASA said this second mission is about
demonstrating a broad range of capabilities needed four deep space missions,
and that will involve four astronauts venturing around the Moon
over ten days, three astronauts from NASA, a Canadian Space
(07:21):
Agency astronaut, and in that group is one woman astronaut.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
And so that's Artemis two, the one that's just going
I shouldn't say, just the one that is going around
the moon. Tell us about Artemis three, which is where
they plan to actually go on to the Moon again.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yes, Artemis three is expected to launch in mid twenty
twenty seven. That was the update from NASA this week.
It's a little bit sooner than we were expecting, but
this would be the first time humans have landed on
the Moon since the seventies, and it would be the
big one.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So Artemis two next year will be major.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's the closest we will have gotten to the Moon
in f something years. But that Artemis II mission is
when NASA will kind of execute the stages of its
plan to return to the Moon more frequently. It's looking
at yearly landings on the Moon with a goal to
establish a permanent presence there.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Okay, so we mentioned before that for about fifty or
so years, missions to the Moon have basically stopped, and
reasons for that are political and also they're expensive. But
now they are starting up again, And you said part
of the reason for that is the Trump administration. Why
exactly is the Trump administration interested in going back to
(08:37):
the Moon.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It has a lot to do with this idea of
the second space race. So if Apollo was NASA's attempt
to win the space race against Russia, Artemis is its
battle against China. So in July twenty twenty three, China's
space agency publicly announced a plan to land two astronauts
on the Moon by twenty thirty. Russia and China then
(09:01):
announced together that they're going to build a moon base together,
so this would be Russian Chinese infrastructure to get those
astronauts there, and it also formally invited more countries and
international organizations to join their International Research Station project as
this alternative to NASA's Artemis program. What's really interesting is
(09:22):
that China has already achieved some significant firsts in its race.
In June, a Chinese lunar land has successfully collected rocks
and soil from the far side of the Moon. That's
something that no other country had done, and it returned
them back to the Earth for study. So there is
kind of a broader geopolitical force really driving Artemis.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
So China is aiming for twenty thirty Artemis, the US
is aiming for twenty twenty seven. How realistic are these timelines?
Are we actually looking at a close race here? Could
China actually get there first?
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
This is an another interesting point to the whole story
because NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that this mid twenty
twenty seven goal is well ahead of the Chinese government's
announced intention, but experts aren't actually so sure that NASA
will be able to do it. To quote former NASA
administrator Jim Bridenstein, who told a Senate hearing this quote,
(10:22):
unless something changes, it's highly unlikely the US will beat
China's projected timeline. He cited concerns about the development of
SpaceX's starship, which will serve as the lunar lander, the
need for multiple refueling missions, and the general kind of
pressure on the scale of this project versus the cost,
(10:44):
the technology, the research, and all of the hours involved
in making it happen and making it happen safely.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
NASA experts did acknowledge.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
This need to kind of balance ambition and safety at
this week's Artemis press conference.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Here's a little bit of what was said. This administration.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Has us to acknowledge that we are indeed in a well,
you know what people have commonly called a second space race.
There is a desire for us to return to the
surface of the Moon and to be the first to
return to the surface of the Moon. With that being said,
NASA's objective, though, is to do so safely.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
And what's the strategic importance for the US or China
in getting to the moon first?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Like?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Why does it matter?
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So this surprised me because I didn't really get it either,
apart from it being a bit of a technological capability
demonstration and a bit of pride from each superpower on
wanting to flex that tech.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah, Like, is it just bragging rights that we're fighting
for here?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, there are deeper political consequences to consider, and they
actually have to do with the territory of the Moon,
the physical land on the Moon itself exactly. It sounds
a bit like Avatar, don't you reckon? Alan Cutler, who
is the president and CEO of the Coalition for Deep
Space Explorations, said, quote, the country that lands on the
(12:08):
Moon first will shape the rules of engagement in space
for decades to come. Cutler and other US officials are
basically concerned that if China gets there first, that there
could be competition over resources in space. That includes valuable
water ice that's thought to be locked up in craters
at the lunar South Pole, so Billy. The thinking is
(12:30):
that water on the Moon could be used to make
rocket fuel, to propel missions deeper into space, or to
sustain colonies of humans living on the Moon. And basically
China and the US want to be the ones to
get their hands on that water.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And so what I guess you're kind of hinting at
or explicitly saying, is that this is all building towards
missions to Mars.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Yeah, it's a pretty far out concept, but it's closer
than we think. The Artemis program has this stated long
term goal to establish a permanent base on the Moon
to facilitate missions to Mars. So we want to get
to the Moon not only to have access to that
water ice, but also as a kind of base for
(13:14):
missions to Mars, because from Earth to Mars, the refueling,
the specs around that at the moment are physically impossible.
The idea, though, is that the Moon becomes this kind
of testing ground, this stepping stone for the much more
challenging journey to Mars.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
And on that.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Base, hopefully, you know, NASA experts will learn how to
develop the technologies needed to get to Mars, how to
live and work in deep space environments, testing life support systems,
can they grow vegetables and food on the Mars surface,
all of that kind of stuff. But I do think
it's important to note that while this sounds exciting, both
(13:52):
the Chinese and American programs have faced delays. I would
take their timelines with a grain of salt. Space programs
are in credibly complex, and Artemis still has some significant
technical hurdles to overcome. So who knows who will win
the second space race. Will it be the US, will
it be China. Whatever happens, it feels like we're certainly
(14:13):
entering a new era of space exploration.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Do you know how close we are to getting to Mars.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I'd say we are about several thousand light years.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Oh, I was expecting more like human years. But light years,
I mean, I can never get my head around those.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But yeah, basically, we don't know how close we are
to Mars until we have.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
A presence on the moon. Exactly, got it. But do
you think it will be in our lifetime? I think
I think it will be in our lifetime. That will
be exciting.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I don't know if it will be in our lifetime
while we still have our.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Natural hair color. Okay, however, I'll take that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Although I'm not an astrophysicist, I'm not a rocket scientist,
so don't quote me on.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I will be you to everyone I know. I'll be
like Emma says, we're going to Mars in our lifetime, the.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Girl with the Bachelor of media says, we're going to Mars.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Emma, thank you for that breakdown. A bachelor in media
is all I need for you to be an expert
in space. Apparently, I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Thank you, Billy, and thank you to the real experts.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And that is all we have time for today's deep dive.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode. We'll
be back in your ears this afternoon with the headlines,
but until then, have a great day and thanks for
having me back.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bungelung Caalcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
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