Why 'Slingshot' Around The Moon? And Other Artemis II Questions

The Brian Lehrer Show explores the historic Artemis II mission, which recently sent four astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have ever traveled—past the Moon and into a record-breaking trajectory. Host Brian Lehrer opens with a 2020 clip of astronaut Victor Glover expressing his simple dream: to return safely. Six years later, Glover and his crew achieved that dream and then some, surpassing Apollo 13’s distance record and witnessing a rare solar eclipse from the Moon’s far side. Dr. Jackie Faraday, astrophysicist from the American Museum of Natural History, joins to explain why the U.S. is returning to the Moon after more than 50 years. She attributes the renewed push to renewed geopolitical competition with China, which is advancing its own lunar ambitions, including a planned lunar base. Faraday also highlights the role of private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic in accelerating innovation and making space travel more comfortable and technologically advanced. The episode touches on the significance of the Mare Orientale region, a massive bullseye-like crater at the Moon’s edge, which has never been seen up close by human eyes. The crew’s rich meal—featuring items like salmon croquettes, barbecued brisket, and chocolate pudding—symbolizes how far life in space has come, even as mission complexity grows.