Return to the moon
BBC Inside Science
BBC
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, humans once again looked down on the magnificent desolation of the lunar surface, from the orbit of the moon itself. They saw earth rise and earth set. They named the craters on the far side. They travelled further from Earth than any human has travelled before. Now, the Artemis mission returns home. Libby Jackson, Head of Space at the Science Museum, joins Inside Science to illuminate whether this lunar flyby is nothing but a test ride or significant for the future of human spaceflight and science. Nasa believes Artemis II will pave the way to not only land on the moon but establish a lunar base. Kelly Weinersmith, author of A City on Mars, joins Tom to discuss the complications that are likely to arrive when and if humans attempt to establish a semi-permanent presence on the lunar surface. Is it really possible?
Presenter: Tom Whipple Producer: Harrison Lewis and Katie Tomsett Editor: Martin Smith
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.3 | Their company's success helped build a nation. |
| 0:10.9 | The company is such a big part of Korea's economy. |
| 0:13.5 | But who are the family behind one of the world's tech giants? |
| 0:17.2 | They often say, look, we built the nation. |
| 0:19.2 | And without us, South Korea as it exists today, |
| 0:22.6 | would simply not be here. Inheritance, Samsung explores the real-life dramas of the Lee family |
| 0:28.3 | and their company. They are the equivalent of royalty. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:34.2 | I always tell people that in 1961, when John F. Kennedy made that famous speech and said, |
| 0:39.8 | we're going to the moon and back by the end of the decade, and we did it. We landed in 1969. |
| 0:46.7 | When he made that speech, the vehicle designs didn't exist. The centers weren't even developed. |
| 0:53.7 | And it was a phenomenal effort. |
| 0:55.8 | It was just absolutely amazing. And now we haven't been back in 55 years to the moon, which |
| 1:05.0 | is sort of weird. |
| 1:07.0 | It is indeed sort of weird. We are vastly richer, vastly more technologically advanced, |
| 1:13.6 | but still not a spacefaring civilization. |
| 1:16.6 | Now though, the weirdness looks like ending. |
| 1:20.6 | And here we go. |
| 1:22.6 | 10, 9, 8, 7, |
| 1:26.6 | RS 25 engines, 8, 4, 3, 7, RS-25 engines, lit. |
| 1:28.3 | 4, 3, 2, 1, booster ignition, and lift. |
| 1:36.3 | This time, a new generation of astronauts and flight controllers |
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