NASA's Artemis II to Return to Moon in Bet on Agency's Future

Bloomberg's Loren Grush said that NASA's Artemis II mission to get back to the moon is aimed at being a 'proving ground' for potential missions to Mars as the agency prepares to launch Wednesday. She said that NASA hopes to take the lessons learned on the moon and use them to figure out the challenges of living on a surface much farther away. Grush also weighed in on the stakes surrounding NASA's focus on the moon, as the agency tries to prove its worth amid budget concerns and the private space race. American astronauts last set foot on the moon in 1972. More than half a century later, NASA is preparing to take a big step toward returning. As soon as April 1, the US space agency is expected to launch a mission called Artemis II from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It will test the Space Launch System rocket, built by Boeing Co., and the Orion crew capsule, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., which together are taller than the Statue of Liberty. Four astronauts will pack into Orion for a trip around the moon and back.  “You’re putting humans on this vehicle for the first time, and that’s always a big deal,” said Phil McAlister, NASA’s former director of commercial space. NASA was driving to launch Artemis II as early as February, but technical issues pushed the timeline back.  If successful, the voyage will help clear the way for astronauts, in maybe two years’ time, to again walk where Neil Armstrong made one giant leap. Yet a lot has to go right — and a lot of money will be spent — before that can happen. Artemis was supposed to revive the purpose-driven spirit that defined the Apollo missions. Instead, it has become a patchwork quilt, with vehicles that have suffered from delays and cost overruns. The first flight of the Artemis vehicles was planned for 2017, but was pushed back five years. To speed up work and instill greater cost discipline, NASA tried different structures for its contracts for landers and spacesuits, but the new approach hasn’t necessarily made development move more quickly. -------- Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube Weekdays 7am-6pm ET WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/BloombergRadio Subscribe to our Podcasts: Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app: Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy Visit our YouTube channels: Bloomberg Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/bloombergpodcasts Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake