Artemis II: Inside NASA’s New Ride to the Moon

About this episode

The episode explores NASA's Artemis II mission, featuring insights on the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System.

During Artemis II, humans will fly Orion—NASA’s next-generation spaceship designed to take us to the Moon and beyond—for the first time. Tour Orion with Branelle Rodriguez, the vehicle manager for Artemis II, to hear about the support systems that keep astronauts alive and how exactly you use the bathroom en route to the Moon. Then, pop the hood of NASA’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System, with David Beaman, one of its key architects. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

People in this episode

Guests: Branelle Rodriguez, David Beaman

Topics covered

• Artemis II
• Orion spacecraft
• Space Launch System
• moon mission
• human spaceflight

Keywords

• Artemis II
• Orion
• Space Launch System
• moon
• NASA
• human spaceflight
• rocket

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA

Products: Orion, Space Launch System

More episodes of NASA's Curious Universe

• Meet the Artemis III Crew · June 12, 2026 · 52 min
• Catching Up With Perseverance on Mars · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
• Bonus: Behind the Scenes of Artemis II with NASA Experts · May 2, 2026 · 31 min
• Update: Artemis II Crew Comes Home · April 15, 2026 · 16 min
• Update: Artemis II Crew Flies Around the Moon · April 8, 2026 · 40 min
• Artemis II: How NASA’s Moon Mission Returns to Earth · April 2, 2026 · 26 min