'This is a beast': What to know for NASA's Artemis II launch

[0:00] no matter how many space launches you have seen you've never seen one like this because [0:04] the space launch system is a vessel unto itself this is a beast taller than the statue of liberty [0:12] from the base to the tip of the torch well over 300 feet it weighs around 6 million pounds but [0:18] that's okay because it can produce about 8 million pounds of thrust starting with those two big solid [0:25] fuel boosters on the side there they will both burn straight through at the beginning [0:29] giving it that extra boost as it gets off the ground and then they will fall away [0:34] they could almost get the job done entirely by themselves but they will have the help of that big [0:38] orange core in the middle it's orange because that is insulation to keep what's inside very very cold [0:45] liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen both of which will be flowing down to these four rs-25 engines [0:51] down below all together sending this well up into space with a tremendous amount of power so where [0:57] are the astronauts in all of this [0:59] they're up here that's where you'll find the orion crew module just below it the service [1:05] module that will supply water and oxygen and all sorts of things to the crew up above and below [1:09] that another big booster which will send that part into a giant elliptical orbit around the earth [1:18] before sending it on its way one more thing you'll see that upside down ice cream cone up there [1:23] that is a escape module in a sense a way for the crew to get out even when this rocket is going to [1:29] take thousands of miles an hour it could bring them safely back down to earth of course everybody [1:34] hopes that this doesn't get used that everything falls off as it should properly and the orion crew [1:40] is on its way on this historic return to the moon is your team tracking anything right now that could [1:47] stand in the way of liftoff tomorrow well i'll tell you it's an extremely complicated rocket that [1:55] we have out on the field so we are monitoring it constantly but if you ask me at this moment [2:02] am i going to make this coming or not i'm going to tell you i'm going to pass it on to you [2:09] we've got a mission to do here but we also have to get rid of the moon this is a project that [2:14] we're doing right now and we're working on getting it ready at this point so as you can see [2:18] the planet is healthy the crew is here and ready to go and the weather weather's looking good [2:24] that is exciting to hear artemis ii is obviously a precursor to artemis iii which involves launching [2:32] a crude nasa space capsule to earth's orbit and then docking with a prototype lunar lander vehicle [2:34] back to some of the basics here at NASA and leveraging the playbook that we used on July 20, 1969, [2:41] where we put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the Moon, [2:44] meaning we build up to these extraordinary world-changing outcomes in a very logical, iterative way. [2:49] So right out on the pad, you have Artemis II, as you said. [2:52] We're going to send that vehicle potentially farther into space than humans have ever gone before, [2:57] potentially faster than humans ever went before. [2:59] And over those 10 days, we are going to use that to test out the Orion spacecraft, [3:04] get very comfortable with its operations, including manually piloting the vehicle, [3:09] which will set up for Artemis III, which will launch in 2027. [3:13] And as you mentioned, Orion and our landers will dock in Earth orbit. [3:17] That's going to be very Apollo 9-esque. [3:19] We're going to get very comfortable with the integrated operations of the lander and the Orion spacecraft, [3:24] which sets up for 2028, where those landers will eventually take astronauts down to the surface. [3:29] On the question of timelines, China is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. [3:34] Is the United States going to get there first? What does it mean if we don't? [3:39] Well, I certainly think that NASA, even though we are all about the peaceful exploration in space [3:50] for science and discovery, has a national security mission. [3:53] You go back to, again, July 20, 1969, American astronauts landed on the Moon, [3:57] brought them safely home to Earth. [3:59] We did what many thought was impossible. [4:01] It sends a message to the world of what else is impossible. [4:03] What is America potentially capable of? [4:05] Now, you come up short on the grand return to the Moon, [4:08] and it says something might not be working right. [4:10] And that might embolden others to challenge us across all of the different emerging technological domains. [4:16] So this is a responsibility we take seriously. [4:18] This is why industry is responding well to changes, [4:21] which is we're not going to go right from Artemis II around the Moon to landing on Artemis III. [4:26] We're going to get back to basics. [4:28] We're going to add missions. [4:29] We're going to increase production rate. [4:31] Pull timelines to the left. [4:33] And start doing it like we did in the 1960s again. [4:38] So I'd say the workforce has responded extremely well. [4:41] Industry has responded well. [4:42] International partners have responded well. [4:44] So we now have an achievable path to getting back to the Moon before the end of President Trump's term, [4:50] which should give us some margin before when we think our great rival will get there. [4:54] But, again, we are measuring success and failure in months here, not years. [4:58] You've obviously taken on a risky mission yourself. [5:01] You were commander of Polaris Dawn. [5:04] What is it like in the final moments for these four astronauts as they're about to leave Earth and their family [5:10] and everything behind to go where few have ever been? [5:17] Well, I'll tell you, there is no comparison at all. [5:20] I mean, I felt very fortunate to be on the Polaris Dawn mission. [5:24] But what the Artemis II astronauts are taking on right now is a different ballgame altogether. [5:29] I mean, 1.8 million pounds of thrust versus 8.8 million pounds of thrust. [5:33] When you're in Earth orbit, you're hours away from being in the water. [5:37] When you commit to the translunar injection, when we send that spacecraft out deep into space and around the Moon, [5:43] you are days away from coming home if something goes wrong. [5:46] These astronauts understand that. [5:48] They spent years preparing for it, and they're doing it because they know what's coming next. [5:52] This is not a one-and-done mission. [5:54] Artemis is a program that will eventually see astronauts undertaking frequent missions to the lunar surface [6:01] so we can stay. [6:03] So we can build the lunar base, realize the scientific and economic potential there, [6:07] use it as a technological proving ground for what comes thereafter, [6:11] which is someday sending American astronauts to Mars. [6:14] Administrator, you also recently announced an ambitious set of goals for NASA, [6:19] including a new Mars mission powered by nuclear propulsion. [6:23] There are a lot of questions, though, about the price tag on that and how you're going to fund it, [6:28] how much you're going to rely on private enterprise. [6:31] I wonder what your message is to folks who see these plans [6:35] and who think there are a lot of issues here on Earth in our country that require funding and attention. [6:43] Why are we devoting so much to this mission when there are problems here on Earth that that money can help address? [6:50] What would you say to them? [6:53] You know, it's a common question. [6:54] It's come up quite frequently throughout my entire space career is why are we doing all this stuff? [6:58] Why do we have moon rockets? [7:00] Why are we building a moon base? [7:01] Why are we building a nuclear-powered spacecraft? [7:03] We should just hit pause on all progress across the world [7:07] and concentrate all of our resources on the problems and the hardships of the day. [7:11] It doesn't work that way. [7:13] I mean, throughout human history, we try and address the challenges of the moment [7:17] to make life better for the people while investing in a better and brighter future for our children of tomorrow. [7:23] NASA gets a quarter percent of the discretionary budget. [7:27] That's a small price to pay for all that we may learn in science and discovery [7:31] and to inspire our children to want to grow up. [7:33] And take us even farther into space right now. [7:37] People, you said, is there questions about the affordability of what we announced at Ignition? [7:41] Everything we covered at Ignition, from the acceleration of the Artemis program, [7:45] which is America's return to the moon, [7:47] to building the moon base on the surface of the moon, [7:50] to launching nuclear power and propulsion, [7:52] is all covered under President Trump's one big beautiful bill. [7:55] It was a significant investment in human space exploration. [7:58] You know, when we didn't have a competitor for a very long time, [8:01] we were able to do lots of little things. [8:03] That's different now. [8:04] We have a geopolitical rival that's challenging us in the ultimate high ground of space. [8:08] We are focusing back on the needle-moving objectives [8:11] in line with President Trump's national space policy, [8:13] which is return to the moon, which is covered in the one big beautiful bill funding, [8:18] build the moon base. [8:19] We are pivoting from a orbital outpost above the moon [8:22] and concentrating those resources on infrastructure on the moon. [8:26] Our nuclear power and propulsion demonstration is making use of decades [8:29] of investments of NASA and lots of nuclear programs that have never left the lab. [8:34] We're taking that hardware. [8:36] We're building the Nautilus. [8:37] Nautilus was never designed to be a nuclear submarine. [8:39] It was a diesel sub. [8:40] It was a 70% solution. [8:42] But it got America underway on nuclear power. [8:45] We're about to get America underway on nuclear power and propulsion in space. [8:50] It's all very exciting. [8:52] I wonder, lastly, Administrator, if you could share with us [8:54] whether you've talked to the Artemis 2 astronauts recently [8:57] and if you have a sense of how they're feeling [8:59] ahead of the launch. [9:00] Oh, I speak to the Artemis 2 crew all the time. [9:05] I've known them, you know, long before I was ever in this role. [9:09] Victor Glover, who's the pilot on Artemis 2, [9:12] he flew Crew Dragon Resilience on NASA's Crew 1 mission. [9:17] You know, I was the next one to fly that same spacecraft. [9:21] So I'd say we've had a little bit of a bond there for some time. [9:24] I text them all the time. [9:25] What do you need? [9:26] Do you need DoorDash? [9:27] Can we get you some coffee and donuts over there? [9:29] Do we need to go fly? [9:30] No. [9:31] Whatever you need, we're here for you. [9:33] I can tell you they're feeling great. [9:35] They're energized. [9:36] They've been preparing for this moment for years. [9:38] And I'll tell you, those announcements from last week, [9:41] building the moon base, accelerating SLS production, [9:43] getting back into a rhythm of launching moon rockets, [9:46] that's what they want to hear. [9:47] They want to know the risks they're taking to undertake this mission [9:50] is part of something bigger.