Return to Transcripts main page
The Lead with Jake Tapper
Soon, Artemis II Crew Reaches Maximum Distance From Earth; Soon, Artemis II Crew Makes Closest Approach To Moon; Now: Artemis II Crew Loses Contact On Far Side Of Moon. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired April 06, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We are just moments away from a stunning space milestone when the Artemis II astronauts will pass behind the moon, farther into space than any human has ever gone before. You're looking at live pictures from NASA right now, views from outside the Orion capsule as it nears the moon. We're going to take you there in moments as the spacecraft soars beyond the moon's far side.
NASA expects a 40-minute communication blackout with those astronauts, and then the capsule will slingshot back towards the Earth using the moon's gravity to bring the crew home. And while we don't expect to be able to see or hear what the astronauts are experiencing live during that blackout period, they are carrying 32 cameras on this mission and are expected to bring thousands of images home with them.
NASA says the crew should be able to see parts of the moon that have never before been seen by human eyes. And on top of that, they could see the landing sites of both the Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 missions.
Welcome to The Lead's coverage of this historic and exciting day in space. I'm Jake Tapper and I'm joined by a panel of brilliant experts, Bill Nye, who leads the Planetary Society, retired Astronaut Charles Bolden, who also served as the NASA administrator, retired astronaut Tim Kopra, who served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station. And as if that weren't enough, we also have with us remotely retired Astronaut Joan Higginbotham, who worked on 53 shuttle launches.
Let's start though with CNN's Ed Lavandera, who is outside the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Mission Control is.
And, Ed, the astronauts just said they are experiencing moon joy. I love that term, moon joy. What's the mood down there in Houston?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I figure there's going to be a song by that title here pretty soon. But what we are witnessing and listening to Jake is simply riveting. We have the four astronauts inside that capsule working in basically total darkness so that the glare from inside the capsule doesn't ruin any of the images.
Two astronauts taking pictures and doing the documenting work while two others are basically like a color commentary of a sporting event describing what they're seeing. And it has just been absolutely beautiful to listen to the way they describe it, at times talking about how much more brown and green the surface of the moon looks to them as they get closer and closer.
That strip where you see the light and the dark is known as the terminator area. There was -- Jeremy Hanson was talking about just how incredibly rugged it looked. They were taken aback about being able to see the difference in topography and just how stunning it all is, and this as they're getting closer and closer.
Right now, the capsule is actually on the far side of the moon. It's going to be coming like this and then looping back around it. So, these images will continue. And we're about 40 minutes away from that communications blackout. Nothing to worry about there, that is all part of the plan. That is what happens. The communications will be restored some 40 minutes after that period goes.
But it is during that window, Jake, that the astronauts will be the closest that anyone has ever been -- well, on this mission, the closest they'll ever be to the moon, some 4,000 miles. But they are now traveling farther than any astronauts have ever traveled from the distance of the Earth. It's just an absolutely captivating experience that will last several more hours.
And then hopefully in the coming days we'll be able to get some high resolution images of the thousands of pictures that they have been capturing. There is a team of scientists working with them to -- they have mapped out exactly all the different areas and specific areas that they want to be able to document. And that's why they're taking turns, making sure they hit this long laundry list of spots on the moon that they want documented. Jake?
TAPPER: Fascinating. Ed Lavandera in Houston, thanks so much.
My panel is here. I can't say that they all have moon joy, but I suspect you all have moon joy. Charles Bolden, let me start with you. The Artemis II team beat the previous record Apollo 13 56 years ago, I think, for the farthest distance that any human being has been from Earth. There're so many historic pieces of this mission. What are you most excited about today?
CHARLES BOLDEN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: My excitement started this morning watching them get ready. And I told somebody, you know, surprisingly, this part's the sort of the icing on the cake. I was mesmerized by listening to the coordination going on between mission control and the crew on where cameras go.
You know, Tim knows that's a big deal. You know, when we were doing Earth obs and stuff, they always wanted you in a particular window with a particular lens and stuff. This was like, you know, cinematography in the works.
And it was about an hour with the science -- that was a big difference. With the science team was right there involved in helping to decide, okay, which window do we want you to put which camera in and everything else.
[18:05:07]
I've never seen anything like this. So, that's what's mesmerized me today.
TAPPER: Tim, same thing for you.
TIM KOPRA, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Oh, for sure. The scenes that we're going to see that they capture from the far side of the moon are going to be spectacular. I think is just going to blow everybody away. And what I think is really amazing is that we're finally getting back to the moon. What that in turn means is that the American populace, the world, really, will be reengaged with going back to the moon.
Our class, when we were selected in 2000, our office chief at the time said, you're going to be the class that goes back to the moon. Well, that didn't happen. And so this is a huge milestone. And if you couple that with what our new administrator, Isaacman, has brought forward with ignition. This is really the first step on a multi-year, multi- decade plan to go back to the moon and then to Mars.
TAPPER: I should just know for those watching on the right side of the screen, obviously, that's outside Artemis II, that's the moon, in case you didn't know. And then the bottom of your screen, that's inside the Orion capsule. They've turned out the lights so that they can have a better, view a better image of the moon.
Bill Nye, the team is still going to be about 4,000 miles away from the moon's surface at the closest point. How much will they be able to observe from that spot compared to what the Apollo mission saw?
BILL NYE, CEO, PLANETARY SOCIETY: Well, they're much farther away, so they're getting a much bigger view. And what will strike everybody, just take a look how pockmarked the far side of the moon is.
TAPPER: Yes.
NYE: And the significance of this has to do, of course, anyone with the ancient dinosaurs.
So, when I was in school, nobody had a reasonable explanation of what happened to the ancient dinosaurs. Now, the Alvarez's proved pretty much to everybody's satisfaction that it was an asteroid impact. And you can see what happened here on Earth in that same era, like maybe epic, where this solar system was bombarding the moon and the Earth. The Earth craters are largely washed away by erosion. So, there is a life lesson there.
If we have an asteroid incoming, we're going to have to give it a nudge. And if you don't believe me, look at the far side of the moon. And, yes, it's spectacular and breathtaking. And I am, if I may so old, I remember very well Apollo 11.
TAPPER: There you go.
NYE: Well, but I'm --
TAPPER: We appreciate the tip. We appreciate the hand --
NYE: But here's the thing. Okay, hang on, the organization that's going to lead any asteroid deflection effort is going to be NASA. It might be European Space Agency, maybe it might be China National Space, but it's almost certainly going to be NASA. And today, everybody, while this extraordinary stuff is going on, which, you know, super thumbs up, as the kids say, as the kids text, but they're cutting -- the proposal is to cut the NASA budget, to cut NASA science, which affects asteroid deflection. It gives one pause.
TAPPER: Interesting.
NYE: So, let's celebrate and --
TAPPER: And take the lesson, and take the note, as they say.
NYE: Yes, take the note.
TAPPER: Joan, let me go to you. The astronauts are already taking in some awesome views of the moon. Take a listen to what they've said just a little bit of what they've said on the live stream today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: What it really looks like is like a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through. They are so bright compared to the rest of the moon.
The more I look at the moon, the browner and browner, it looks.
VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: There are little islands. There are islands of terrain out there that are completely surrounded by darkness.
Up to the north, there is a very nice double crater. It looks like a snowman.
REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: It is just fascinating here. It's so cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What do you think of when you hear the descriptions of the moon?
JOAN HIGGINBOTHAM, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: It's absolutely incredible and actually I've been glued to Mission Control since they launched it. It was like I'm sitting on the comm console and I feel like I'm back in my old role. But just listening to the crew just give those incredible descriptors of the moon is something that we wouldn't get if you didn't have human eyes actually looking at it.
You could take as many pictures as you want. But to have the superlatives and everything -- the nuances that they can bring to what they are seeing visually is what is really spectacular and adds just that much more to what we're doing or what they're accomplishing with this mission.
TAPPER: And, Tim, NASA says, the astronauts attended classes and used flashcards to understand the lunar geography. They handled rocks to get a grasp of the geology. They even trained in Iceland for the field -- in the field for this. How much did those practical preparations help during a historic mission like this?
KOPRA: I think all of the training is helpful because there's so much to learn. And if you think about this mission, it's not just a crew of four, it's the entire team. It's the operational team that's working. It's those trainers that have really prepared them, but they need to have a working knowledge on what they're seeing so they can translate this spectacular view into something that's actually useful for these next missions.
[18:10:08]
TAPPER: So great. Everyone stick around. We're bringing live pictures from NASA as the Artemis II crew is just minutes away from passing behind the moon. Soon, the crew is going to lose contact with mission control. That's an expected 40-minute blackout window. Don't worry. We're planning for it. We're tracking every moment during our special coverage. You don't want to miss it.
We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Welcome back to a very special edition of the Lead, Mission to the Moon. We're following today's historic Artemis II lunar flyby. You're looking live from space outside the Orion spacecraft. And in just minutes, the four astronauts aboard are going to fly behind the far side of the moon, soaring farther into space than any human has ever traveled before.
[18:15:00]
CNN's Tom Foreman breaks down just how significant this moment is for the future of space travel.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jake. This really is the Artemis II mission with the crew, more than a quarter million miles in space, more than 4,000 miles beyond the moon. And this is a mission that has already set so many firsts, the first woman, the first person of color, the first Canadian to go beyond low earth orbit, and now all of them, the first people to go this deeply into space.
And what that means is aboard their tiny little craft here, they are really seeing things that very few people have ever seen, including the dark side of the moon. Now, it's not really dark. It's just called that because we can't see it from Earth. It gets plenty of light, and this mission has been time to go by when the light is available. That allows the Artemis crew to take a better look at all the hills and planes and valleys on that side of the moon to compare them to the side that we can see, all of which offers more clues about how the moon was formed, how the Earth was formed, solar system, universe, and so on.
It's not the first time we've seen it, but this is really important additional data. These pictures, by the way, came from 1970, the Apollo 13 crew, because they went to that side of the moon. Of course, you know the story. They had a near disaster, a remarkable recovery, and they made it safely back to Earth. And, of course, that's what everybody hopes now that the crew of the Orion space capsule over here will now be able to keep spinning around there, driven by the gravity of the moon back toward Earth to safely land with all of their observations and their photos from parts of the universe that we've never really quite seen before in this way. Jake?
TAPPER: Amazing. Tom Foreman, thank you so much.
I think we have some images coming in from the Orion spacecraft. Do we have those? It is the crew, they're -- you can't really see it particularly well, but they are, we're told eating a meal. That's there on the right side.
So, speaking of boldly go where no person has ever gone before, let's bring in legendary actor William Shatner, who boldly went where no man had ever gone before on Star Trek, and then, of course, traveled to actual space in 2021 on Blue Origin's new Shephard Rocket.
Mr. Shatner, first of all, it's an honor to have you on the show. How are you feeling about this historic day for space travel?
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: I got to tell you, when I watched the liftoff, my heart was in my mouth because of all the things that have gone wrong before. I mean, these are test pilots. This is a whole new vehicle, and my heart was in my mouth.
Now, they're going around the dark side and they're going to -- now they're on the real test, which is landing, and we know that there are efficiencies (ph) there. They've changed the angle of the entry. You're -- we are in for an incredible story of life and death when upon entry. So, not only is this incredible, but we've got this other drama to take place in the next couple of days.
But I want to leave you, Jake, with one word that has -- I've never heard mentioned, and that is regolith.
TAPPER: Okay.
SHATNER: Regolith is the dirt, the dust from asteroids bombarding the moon for billions of years. They've left a covering of essentially dust. And it's a magical dust because it can be used for everything. You can get metal from it. You can get water from it. You can get all the building blocks of being on the moon from regolith, except that regolith is dust and it gets into everything. And it will affect the machinery of the landing, and everybody who works on the moon will be covered in regolith.
TAPPER: Regolith. I thought you -- at first you said rugelach. I thought you were describing a Passover treat that you had last week. But you said regolith. So, Bill, you've described your trip to space as a grieving experience, and you said you returned to Earth with profound sadness. But you're feeling joy today.
SHATNER: Well, what these guys are watching --
TAPPER: Yes.
SHATNER: What these guys are watching are something brand new, the far side of the moon, the excitement of new adventure, of new science. What I was looking at was the beauty of Earth compared to the blackness, the deathlike palpable blackness of space. And I felt didn't at the time realize that I was in mourning, in grief, for what we've done to this beautiful planet, this rock, this tiny rock upon which sentient, conscious human beings are aboard and we're wrecking our little rock.
[18:20:05]
And, you know, the attitude towards our wreckage is being lost. And saving the planet from existential death is what I was grieving for when I came down.
TAPPER: So, you're originally from Canada, as I'm sure your fans know, and there is a fellow Canadian on this mission, Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, along with the three Americans.
SHATNER: I know.
TAPPER: So, you must be feeling an --
SHATNER: I know.
TAPPER: -- an extra sense of pride because you get to claim the three Americans and you get to claim the Canadian.
SHATNER: Again, that and the originality, the independence of Canada, the smartness, the cleverness, the political persuasions of Canada are all there. And Canada is a great partner to this program. And it shouldn't be forgotten that we in Canada have contributed a great deal to what is essentially an American success.
TAPPER: Well, we are -- I'm so honored to have you on the show today, William Shatner. Thank you so much and thanks for visiting and with us today.
SHATNER: A pleasure.
TAPPER: If you have children around, this is one of those moments when you're going to want to bring them to the T.V. as opposed to when I'm reading the president's tweets. This is a historic day. Artemis is flying over the far side of the moon. Keep it here on CNN for more of our special coverage ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
TAPPER: And we're back with our live coverage of NASA's historic lunar flyby, these amazing live pictures as Artemis II nears the far side of the moon. In less than 20 minutes, the crew of Orion is expected to lose all communicated with Mission Control. It's going to last about 40 minutes.
I want to get right to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's outside the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Mission Control is located.
And, Ed, what is the mood like down there?
LAVANDERA: Oh, man, Jake, this is just spectacular to witness and eavesdrop in on these astronauts as they're doing this incredible work capturing these images. I want to show you one still image that we were able to capture from the feet. It happened very quick. But one of the astronauts, and remember it's almost like pitch black inside that capsule, so it's hard to make out.
But you can see at one point one of the astronauts holds up an iPhone, and they are carrying iPhones up there, that has -- just look at that shot. You can just only see the surface of the moon. And that's a view from one of those capsule windows.
This was just a little flash on the feed that came down, but it kind of gives you a sense of what these images are going to look like once they get -- turned around here by NASA officials, I assume, over the course of the next 24 hours. But it's just a riveting moment as this crew continues to capture these images. They are now, well on the far side of the moon. And here in the next hour or so, they are going to be making the return journey home.
And what is interesting is we've been watching all of this, many of these astronauts' families we've been listening have turned up here at Johnson Space Center. They are in the viewing area of Mission Control, watching their loved ones carry out this work today, kind of front seat view there from Mission Control. And a couple times throughout the day, Jake, we heard those astronauts sending messages back to their spouses and their children. So, just an absolutely emotional and riveting day as we listen to these astronauts do this work today.
TAPPER: It's so exciting. Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.
And just a reminder for those watching at home, you're looking at live images from outer space. That's the Artemis II crew inside the capsule. And on the left side of your screen right underneath me that's the view of the moon that they have.
I'm back with my panel. And also joining us remotely as former Astronaut Garrett Reesman.
Garrett, what could these four astronauts potentially learn today about the moon that we don't already know?
GARRETT REISMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, they're making in-situ observations, and they're looking down, they're taking pictures and seeing things that no human eye has seen before.
But, you know, I keep thinking, Jake, about 1968 and the first time we sent humans around the moon, which is also a time of division and -- in American society and War. It's very much like today. And one of the people sent a telegram to the crew when they came back and they said, thank you for saving 1968.
And I really think that, you know, human space flight has this magical capability to unite us. And when they come around the moon and they get a look at the Earth again and they beam that down to us, hopefully, that gives us all a sense of unity that we really need right now. And I think that's much more valuable than any observation that they make of the lunar surface.
TAPPER: It's a lovely thought and hope and wish and prayer for everyone.
Garrett, can you put into context what it means for these astronauts to go farther from Earth than any human ever has, to boldly go where no man has ever gone before, as our previous guest, Mr. Shatner, might say? What do you think they're feeling right now?
REISMAN: Well, you know, it's interesting, and I mentioned this before, they're doing a great job of communicating what they're feeling, which is kind of new for us astronauts. We used to -- in the old days, we were steely-eyed missile men, you know, test pilots that didn't really share their feelings. And I'm listening to them talking on the loops and hearing what they're feeling and what the emotions that came out when they named the crater after Carroll. You know, that's something new. And so they're sharing it all. So, if you want to know what they're feeling, just listen, and they're telling you.
TAPPER: Joan, the astronauts were greeted this morning by a special message. Talk about emotional moments. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM LOVELL, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Hello, Artemis II. This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell.
[18:30:00]
Welcome to my old neighborhood. It's a historic day and I know how busy you'll be. But don't forget to enjoy the view.
So, Reid, and Victor, and Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you, good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So, Jim passed away last summer. He was known for traveling on the Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 missions. What do you think hearing from him meant to the crew when they heard that.
HIGGINBOTHAM: You know, you were talking about just touching moments throughout this mission, and that probably just had to touch a heart of every single crew member knowing that this gentleman literally paved the way for what they're doing today.
And the crew has said as much so that it was very humbling and very much an honor to have a message from someone who paved the way. So, just a very touching message. And whoever thought of doing that and capturing it was just -- that was spot on.
TAPPER: Pretty brilliant, yes, I agree.
Bill Nye, what are you most interested in learning about the lunar surface on the far side?
NYE: Well, what intrigues me is this business of minerals that you don't expect to be there, and the famous one is water ice. They were talking about looking -- it looked like a lampshade, Christina, as I call her, excuse me, everybody, talking about it looked like a lampshade with pinpricks in it.
And it is a striking thing, everybody. If you haven't stopped to think about this, there's nothing between us and the moon, I mean, very few molecules. When you look at Mars, when you look at Saturn, Jupiter in the night sky, it's just so much emptiness. And what's striking is how reflective certain surfaces of the craters apparently are.
And so there's a mystery, everybody. If there is water, ice on the moon, why hasn't it evaporated? What's going on? Is there some magical thing about water molecules that we don't understand? Is there's something strange about the solar wind proton streaming off the sun that establishes, creates these minerals that are highly reflective and are not extant here on Earth's surface?
So, it's amazing, striking, and as the old saying goes, Bruce Murray, who was one of the founders of the Planetary Society, was the head of the Jet Propulsion Lab during the famous Voyager missions and Viking missions, he was asked, what are you -- why are you guys sending these missions out there and what are you going to find? We don't know what we're going to find. That's why we're going.
TAPPER: Yes.
NYE: And so I'm most excited about this. I didn't expect people to be saying how reflective things are, so just the last few minutes ago, what's happening there.
TAPPER: Tim, how does an astronaut even prepare for a day like today, especially even more so than other days in space?
KOPRA: You know, it's a little bit like boiling a frog because you get inundated with your training. And, you know, from the first time you come in, you learn intellectually and sort of the technical aspects, then you train in a neutral buoyancy lab, which is to simulate spacewalks. And then you go into simulators where everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong.
And so by the time you get on a mission, like when I flew on the Russian Soyuz, I wasn't thinking about the launch and hazard, I'm thinking about don't make a mistake.
TAPPER: Right.
KOPRA: And so you're really focused on doing your job correctly. Whereas on this mission, you know, I think this is an amazing crew and I'm just so honored that that they're doing this for our nation and for the world, but they have some time to actually enjoy it. Whereas when you get on a space shuttle mission or a space station mission, you move at a very fast clip.
And now they have this break where they're actually doing great science by taking photographs, but at the same time, they can enjoy this amazing view.
TAPPER: I have to squeeze in a quick break. I want to do it before we get to the moment that you do not want to miss, when Artemis II passes behind the moon and Mission Control loses contact with them. It's going to last an estimated 40 minutes. The crew will see sights that no human eyes have ever seen before.
Stick with us. We'll bring you every moment live. We're going to squeeze in a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
TAPPER: Welcome back to our special joyous edition of The Lead, Mission to the Moon. Take a look at your screen because right now we're seeing our first live shot of the Orion space capsule that also includes not only the moon, but on the far right of your screen, yes, that's you, that's planet Earth, a spectacular moment.
Soon, in about six minutes, the Artemis II team is going to experience communications blackout. We're expecting it, so don't freak out, losing contact with Earth for approximately 40 minutes, something that's planned as they continue to capture the sites of the mysterious far side of the moon that has never been seen from Earth.
I want to bring in retired Astronaut Scott Kelly. Scott, earlier today, your brother, fellow retired astronaut, Senator Mark Kelly, he reposted this. Somebody wrote, do you think retired shuttle astronauts are getting FOMO, which means fear of missing out, your brother writes, yes. What's -- are you having FOMO about this mission?
SCOTT KELLY, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Absolutely, Jake, major, major FOMO. I think if any astronaut said they didn't have FOMO right now, they'd probably be lying.
TAPPER: So, this team is preparing to enter into this communications blackout for the period they were on the far side of the moon. Did you ever experience anything like that? I know it's not unheard of but if you have, what does it feel like to not be able to talk to Earth or have them talk to you?
KELLY: Well, you experience it on the space shuttle sometimes, but you experience a lot on the International Space Station. Every day, every hour, every orbit for that matter, you'll have some periods of time with no communication and it's completely normal, just like in this situation.
When it isn't normal is when you wake up one morning, like happened to me one time, and we couldn't talk to the Earth at all and couldn't figure out why, but in this case, perfectly a normal situation.
[18:40:09]
TAPPER: Well, you can't leave that matzo ball hanging out there. Like what do you mean? What happened and how'd you get back in touch with Earth?
KELLY: You know, I don't -- it was a few hours, I think, before we even realized it, because it was a weekend, and it wasn't a day that had anything scheduled. So, I think the ground actually tried to write us notes on some of the computers. Hey, try to call us. But I think it had to do with some ground -- it had nothing to do with the equipment on the space station. I think it was stuff, ground hardware that was misconfigured.
TAPPER: Whoa, it sounds terrifying.
The Artemis crew will have about five hours on the far side of the moon and they will alternate in pairs for lunar observations. How do you prepare to make sure you get everything you need for a mission on a time constraint like that? And do you think they -- I mean, do you take classes in poetry so you can adequately explain what you're seeing?
KELLY: I was never given any poetry classes but we did get geology training, even in 1996. I mean, we were so sure that our class was going to the moon. They sent us to New Mexico with this guy, Bill Mohberg (ph). I think he was in his 80s, and he'd run up these hills and we had to chase him doing geology training.
So, hopefully, poetry. I mean, some of the things these guys have said have been pretty poetic so far.
TAPPER: Absolutely. The crew had an emotional moment today, a couple of them, really, but especially when they named a new visible crater on the moon after Carroll Taylor Wiseman, the late wife of the commander of this mission, Reid Wiseman, she died in 2020. What came to mind for you when you watched all of that unfold?
KELLY: Well, I just thought of Carroll and how wonderful a person she was and how tragic it was when she got cancer and then later passed away. So, my thoughts were completely with her, Reid and their two children. And, yes, really a great, very like, you know, poetic moment too, I think, you could say, when they, name that crater after Carroll.
TAPPER: Yes, forever. Scott Kelly, thanks so much.
Coming up in CNN's special coverage, you're also going to hear from Scott's twin brother, maybe you've heard of him, Senator Mark Kelly.
I want to bring in my panel again. Charles, let just start with you. What are you most anticipating seeing from the images that the crew is collecting as we speak?
BOLDEN: I think you're going to see things, some of the craters they've been talking a lot about, what impressed them as being not what they expected at all. And I'll agree with something that Joan said, listen to the crew. They are telling you that they are mesmerized by what they're seeing. You asked the question several times, how do you prepare? You don't prepare for something like this.
And I think that's what I love about this crew. Every single one of them, from Reid all the way down, has said several times, I cannot believe this. Reid talked earlier today about looking out the window to make sure that he was going to put his 400 millimeter lens on a site down there. And he said when he looked through the lens, he was blown away. I just -- that's what they're experiencing.
TAPPER: So, you see the Earth disappearing there on the right side of our screen. And like, that's it. We're taking hits as we we're about to lose in a few seconds.
NYE: Wow. Look at that.
TAPPER: Comms with --
NYE: Oh, man. This is, oh, what a moment, everyone.
TAPPER: So, just to remind everybody, we knew this was going to happen. The taking hits and the loss of signal, we knew that was going to happen. It's going to be about 40 minutes, and that's it. Now, we got images of Mission Control. We don't have anything from Artemis anymore.
NYE: So, just to your everyday experience, everyone watching, I'm sure, has access to a mobile phone. The thing works everywhere you go because the signals bouncing off of the surroundings.
BOLDEN: It doesn't work everywhere you go.
NYE: Yes, good point.
BOLDEN: I live in Crystal City.
TAPPER: Not in D.C. Not in D.C.
BOLDEN: It goes --
(CROSSTALKS)
TAPPER: Yes, not near the Lincoln Memorial, also a lot of jammers.
NYE: But to that point, you're in a cave or you're around a deliberate jamming system, right. But here you're -- the line of sight from here to the moon is fine. You can look out there and see it. But somehow when these radio waves, they're not going to refract or get spread out as they go around the limb or the edge of the moon, they're going to be blocked completely, very much out of your everyday experience.
TAPPER: So, we have confirmation, not that we needed it from that. You saw that woman pop up from Mission Control. She was a con confirming that they have lost contact, as was expected.
[18:45:02]
And some of the images obviously -- this is a -- these are simulations of what's going on right now. Our Artemis loss of signal is counting down there, 32 seconds -- counting up rather until we regain.
Tim, what's going through your mind right now as you watch this? Other than the FOMO that every astronaut feels.
TIM KOPRA, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, I definitely feel the FOMO.
TAPPER: I feel it and I'm not an astronaut.
KOPRA: Oh my gosh. I mean, it is such a pinnacle event for any astronaut to go to the moon. I mean, as a kid, I'm old enough that I grew up watching the Apollo missions. I watched one of the first launches with my brother when I was six years old.
And I think every little kid when I was you know, in kindergarten wanted to be an astronaut someday. And I think it's been an amazing motivator throughout history, modern history of young people that get motivated by, by space, that want to go into science or want to be an astronaut or an engineer.
It is such a shot in the arm for inspiration. And so certainly have FOMO. But I'm so proud of this crew. I mean, the way they've worked together and, and the observations are going to make and really this as that big stepping stone for where we're going to do in the future.
TAPPER: Joan, let's go to you right now as were taking images right now from mission control in Houston at the Johnson Space Center with the Artemis II crew now in this communications blackout.
How do you imagine they're feeling at this moment? And did you ever experience anything like that?
JOAN HIGGINBOTHAM, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: We did. Coming back in, there was a period of time. And the trainers tell you there's a possibility of losing comm with the ground. And we did. It was maybe 30, 45 seconds, so nothing major. But as far as what the crew is experiencing, they're probably kind of happy right now because they're probably just enjoying the view out the window.
KOPRA: Yeah, for sure.
HIGGINBOTHAM: And taking photos and not being interrupted. So, I -- they're not worried. They trained on this. They know this is nominal operations. So I'm sure they're literally enjoying the view right now.
KOPRA: Yeah.
TAPER: So, we're told that the Victor Glover, the astronaut who has just been a poet this entire mission his, the last words at mission control heard from him were, we'll see you on the other side, which is perfect.
Garrett, we can only imagine what the crew is feeling right now since we're out of comms range. What does it feel like as an astronaut to know that you're the first person to see something like this?
GARRETT REISMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: That's got to feel really special to see something that dramatic. I think I was the first person to see my hometown of Parsippany, New Jersey from space. It was only because I was the first person that was looking for it. And so, I don't really have anything that compares.
TAPPER: On Earth two.
REISMAN: But, you know - sorry?
TAPPER: Nothing. I'm making a New Jersey joke. Keep going.
REISMAN: No, no, we got enough -- get enough of that.
But, the thing is, we all said that we have FOMO and what I really have FOMO about is this 40 minutes. I think I predict that when they come back, they're going to say that this 40 minutes was for them the most special part of the entire journey.
Because if you think about it, Jake, up until now, they've been in the spotlight. You know, we've all the whole world is watching mission control is talking to them all the time about all the things going on with the ship.
And they've got group texts leading up to launch where there's -- there's -- they're talking back and forth with their families. But this next 40 minutes is just them and the moon, and they have it all to themselves. And that's making me insanely jealous because what a special thing. You know, what a -- what a special 40 minutes, to just be able to soak it in. And they deserve it because they're such a close knit crew, but you don't get much privacy. And this, this is 40 very precious minutes.
TAPPER: And, Charles, we're going to see images from the far side of the moon that we've never seen before, right? They're taking these pictures that we've never seen before?
CHARLES BOLDEN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: You're going to see some that that we have never seen before. The Apollo 13 crew got some of what they're going to see when they went around. But this -- this mission was planned so that it would be daylight on the backside of the moon, on the far side of the moon when they went around.
And so, we're going to get some exceptionally special things. The other thing that Bill mentioned a long time ago was their altitude means that they're looking at the whole sphere. TAPPER: Yeah.
BOLDEN: The Apollo crews, you know, they saw, they saw the moon the way that we see earth when we go around and station and shuttle, we see huge portions of Earth depending on your altitude, but you never see the sphere from low Earth orbit.
TAPPER: Does that mean, by the way -- sorry for my ignorance.
BOLDEN: Yeah.
TAPPER: But does that mean that we've never had a full image of the far side of the moon?
BOLDEN: To my knowledge, we haven't because we haven't had, you know, the apollo crews, when they when they went around.
TAPPER: They were closer.
BOLDEN: They were a lot closer. My guess is they saw the moon similar to the way we see earth when we go around. Now, if you look at -- well, if you look at earthrise from Apollo 8.
[18:50:02]
You know, they're looking at a segment of the moon and all of a sudden, that's what caught -- I mean, that's what blew them away was they saw our planet coming up from behind this piece of the moon that they were coming from.
And I mean, it just blew them away. And that was, that was something that. How do you prepare for that?
TAPPER: Yeah.
BOLDEN: Christmas Eve, 1968, it's like Garrett said that that was a time that that NASA saved the world because the world was in turmoil. I'm a -- I'm a 68 grad at the Naval Academy, getting ready to go to Vietnam.
We were killing each other in the streets about Vietnam. We were fighting about civil rights, as Garrett said, not unlike today. And this is a message that Victor talked about on Easter Day. You know, think about --
TAPPER: We're all in this together.
BOLDEN: This planet on which we live and we're all here together.
And we determine our fate. You know, either we decide that we're going to save this planet and we're going to work as one people who are earthlings, or we're going to just give it up to people who don't want to live that way. I want to live that way. I'm an earthling.
TAPPER: Speaking -- I'm with you. I'm an earthling, too. Speaking of Victor, I want to play what he said right before he lost
comms. Purposely. We knew it was going to happen. I mean, with mission control. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we're still to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: We love you from the moon.
I mean, Victor Glover is a -- is an American treasure.
BILL NYE, CEO, PLANETARY SOCIETY: Moon joy right there.
TAPPER: Moon joy.
The kinds of cameras, I think they have something like 32 cameras. And these aren't like disposable cameras that you get at a -- at a -- at a birthday party. These must be the most intense cameras that have ever been created.
NYE: Yeah. Well, because so another thing, speaking of, Bruce Murray founded the Planetary Society. He is supposed to be the guy during Ranger missions going to the surface of the moon. And then one of the Ranger spacecraft was repurposed to go to mars.
He's the guy, apparently by our law. The guy said, we got to have a camera on this thing. And people were saying, no, that's a publicity stunt. No, you need a Geiger counter. And he goes, can you imagine a space program without pictures? Who would? Nobody would care, respectfully.
BOLDEN: Yeah.
NYE: And so, this is -- because Apollo 8, because earthrise changed the world, they -- you are taking the camera thing very seriously this time.
KOPRA: You have to be able to share this experience.
NYE: Yeah, and furthermore, you see the quality of the iPhone like they're taking iPhone, the modern phones are so high quality and you might say to yourself, how can you get such a great picture with such a small lens? Look at the lenses we walk around with. If you got the right sensors behind the lens, it's pretty good. This is so exciting.
TAPPER: It's very cool.
NYE: And let me ask you, astronaut guys, if I may. Do you ever think about the physics? You're out there and you're getting slung around by. Really? Maybe you should think about that.
You know, Jake, everything happens for a reason. And that reason is usually --
TAPPER: Physics.
NYE: Yes. And so do you ever think about this little spacecraft, every particle of it. And you as being attracted to every particle of the moon and earth, and you've got enough speed. Oh, it's just -- it's elegant.
KOPRA: And the trust they have in the people that design that trajectory because that's their trip home.
NYE: And furthermore, when you talk about --
BOLDEN: I wouldn't enjoy my missions, if I'd been thinking about all that
NYE: You're freaking pilot, man. You think about aeronautics all the time.
TAPPER: So, Joan, let me -- let me just bring you in. We're talking about the slingshot that's about to happen. Explain what that is for our viewers
HIGGINBOTHAM: Well, probably Bill is the better guy to explain, but I'll give it a shot and he can correct.
So, when they did the TLI burn, the translunar injection burn, that did two things, it set them on a path to go to the moon. And it also basically put them on a path to come home. So that single burn did those two things. And, and the burn was phenomenal in that they didn't have to do the first two correction burns. They did a small one I think yesterday.
But that -- that burn was just almost spot on and it brought, it's going to bring them. It put them towards the moon. Going to bring them back home safely as well.
BOLDEN: So, we have Apollo 13.
TAPPER: Yeah.
BOLDEN: You know, just use the moon's gravity to whip you around. You know, we you see it a lot. That's the way we send planetary missions on their way. When we don't have enough power in the rocket.
TAPPER: Using their --
BOLDEN: We use the gravity of --
TAPPER: The gravity.
BOLDEN: -- moon or the gravity of another planet or something to whip it around and spit it out.
[18:55:00] NYE: And then for rocket science buffs, keep in mind the whole thing -- you and I are in orbit around the sun, too. So, the earth's moving, the moon's moving, we're all going around the sun. It is rocket science. And it is so well understood.
TAPPER: A lot of physics going on.
Garrett, we heard Jim Lavelle's full message to the crew. He was talking about how this mission is paving the way for the future and the future mission to Mars, even possibly. What do you think the Artemis II missions for the -- means for the future of space travel?
REISMAN: It means we're starting out again. And this is just the first step. You know, the next Artemis mission is going to practice docking with the landing vehicle in earth orbit. And after that, it's -- people walking on the moon again.
And then after that, a permanent base. So we're seeing the progression of the -- that we hope to see after the Apollo flights, you know, after the apollo program kind of came to an early end, all these things that we hope to see a moon base missions to Mars, they never really materialized in the timeline people expected. And I think it's that kind of disappointment that we didn't keep going at that rate that has, has really driven a lot of people my age into commercial space and into places like SpaceX and Blue Origin to try to make that promise of Apollo come true. And we're seeing that happen now and we're on our way.
BOLDEN: And can I offer one thing? This is a science mission. And I think if -- if you -- if you had any doubt about it, listen to the crew and the ground and the science evaluation room or whatever the surrey is, all day today preparing for, for this particular time that that like Garrett said, they're having a ball because they're looking at this -- this view that people have not had before. They're learning about this moon. That was a chunk that was thrown off from earth and is the same as our own planet in many ways, except it doesn't have an atmosphere and it has nothing to protect it against asteroids and everything else like Bill said.
I mean, what we're going to learn on this mission, if you look at the checklist of photos, it's unbelievable. They're getting crater after crater after crater -- things that -- this is a science mission.
KOPRA: It's also a developmental flight --
BOLDEN: Yeah, it is.
KOPRA: -- as well.
TAPPER: Meaning?
KOPRA: Because we have to understand all the different aspects of this vehicle that's never had humans on board. Radiation protection. The thermal protection when it comes back in, life support systems, they've had some challenges they've worked through.
So, for us to make these next big steps, like Garrett referenced, we have to figure this out and make sure the next one is even better.
TAPPER: We just have a few more seconds left. Final thoughts to you?
NYE: It's an historic day, everyone. And it is -- as the astronauts on board and the crew on the ground, those hundreds, thousands of people who supported it, this is for all humankind. This space exploration is where we solve problems that have never been solved before. And we learn things that we don't expect. This is changing the world.
Thanks for including me.
TAPPER: Thank you for being here.
Thanks to everybody here. Bill, Garrett, Tim, Charles. Joan. It's been amazing watching history unfold today.
I have to hand it over to Erin Burnett. I could do this for the next ten hours.
Our breaking coverage of the historic Artemis II mission continues right now with my friend, Erin. Thanks so much, everyone.
(MUSIC)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And good evening and welcome to this special edition of "OUTFRONT". I'm Erin Burnet.
And we are following the breaking news. The Artemis II four-person crew at this very moment is somewhere that no human being has ever been before. And that is an incredible thing.
Look at these live images. This is master control because they -- that's what you're looking at -- because they have had zero contact with the Artemis crew for about 15 minutes now. So, there are four human beings seeing something no one has ever seen before. We know it's happening, but they can't tell us about it right now. And in just moments, they're going to be the closest they will ever be to the moon, roughly about 4,000 miles.
And just to give you an idea of how close that would feel if you were looking up and looking at the moon for them, for the four astronauts on board, the moon will appear to be the size of a basketball. If you were holding it in your arm right here at arm's length, that's how it looks to them. And in just a few moments, they're going to reach their maximum distance from earth, which it's important to be exact is 252,756 miles away, the farthest a human being has ever been from our planet.
And you can see the clock on your screen counting up. And it is usually we do countdowns on cable news, right? Well, we are counting up for a reason because when it gets to about 40 minutes, mission control should be able to communicate with the astronauts again, right? It's about.
So we're watching that very closely as it counts up. You're going to see us getting there in this crucial moment, in this history making mission. And we're going to be joined by some of the world's most important, powerful voices in astrophysics and science. You know so many of these names and faces.
I want to begin, though, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where Ed Lavandera is.
Ed, because, you know, it is amazing. I just want to -- you know, what we're looking at the screen here is mission control, which is something, you know, people are used to seeing. That's sort of a shot, but we're looking at that because we can't talk to the crew --we can't hear from the crew right now.
They can't, right? We're in a communications blackout. So, tell us what is about to happen.
