Inside Artemis II mission control

From Notre Dame Stories by Notre Dame Stories

May 5, 2026 · 16 min

About this episode

Kelsey Young discusses her role as NASA's first science officer for the Artemis II mission and the significance of human observation in space exploration.

For seven hours, Notre Dame alumna Kelsey Young ’09 sat in NASA mission control, listening as astronauts described the moon in real time from a vantage point no human had ever experienced before. Young is NASA’s first science officer and the lunar science lead for the Artemis II mission. In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, she explains how her role is shaping the future of human space exploration and how human observation became one of the mission’s most valuable scientific tools. She also reflects on the path that led her to NASA, her Notre Dame education, and what’s next as scientists begin analyzing data from this groundbreaking mission. Show links Listen and subscribe Watch on YouTube Episode Page

People in this episode

Guest: Kelsey Young

Topics covered

NASA
Artemis II
moon exploration
human space exploration
lunar science
Notre Dame education

Keywords

NASA
Artemis II
Kelsey Young
moon
space exploration
lunar science
Notre Dame

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA

Books & works: Artemis II

Places: Notre Dame