Artemis: Why Are We Really Going Back to the Moon?

Artemis: Why Are We Really Going Back to the Moon?

From Science Vs by Spotify Studios

April 9, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the motivations behind the renewed interest in lunar exploration, featuring insights from experts in the field.

The moon race is back! NASA’s Artemis II mission just sent four astronauts around the moon. And other countries — and billionaires — are lining up to take a crack at returning to the moon too. But why are we really going? Some say this is a lunar gold rush, that countries want to mine the moon for resources. Others are saying the real reason to go to the moon today is that it’ll help us get to Mars. To find out, we talk to engineer Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, physicist Prof. Nicolle Zellner, and astronomer Prof. Gregg Hallinan. [REBROADCAST] Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsGoingBackToMoon UPDATE 4/9/26: We updated this episode with information about more recent efforts to mine Helium-3 from the moon. This episode was produced by Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Tom Simko, Professor Jack Burns, Dr. Paul Byrne, Dr. Martin Elvis, Dr. John…

People in this episode

Hosts: Wendy Zukerman, Bobby Lord

Guests: Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, Prof. Nicolle Zellner, Prof. Gregg Hallinan

Topics covered

  • moon exploration
  • NASA Artemis II
  • space resources
  • lunar mining
  • Mars exploration
  • international space race

Keywords

  • Artemis II
  • moon
  • space
  • resources
  • Helium-3
  • NASA
  • Mars
  • lunar gold rush

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA, Spotify Studios

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