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Artemis II Crew Climbs into Capsule Before Launch; Trump Says He's Absolutely Considering Trying to Withdraw from NATO; Final Preparations Ahead of NASA's Historic Moon Mission. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 01, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Breaking news to CNN and a live view as the crew of Artemis II is getting set to enter the Orion capsule, where they will lay flat on their backs essentially and be jettisoned off out of Earth's orbit. Right now you see, I believe that's Victor Glover and Christina Koch going through final checks. Their spacesuits have been strapped in.

You can see they're in good spirits, smiling and laughing with the crew that is helping them get ready. We have Pete Muntean with us as well as Clayton Anderson. Clayton, take us through what it's like to go through these final checks.

I imagine there's a long list of items that these astronauts have to go through as we look inside the Orion capsule and see all of that equipment and we see, I believe that's our Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen that are now strapped in. It's an unbelievably complicated process.

CLATON ANDERSON, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Yes, there's an order to the entrance of the crew, so Reid probably went in first. I'm not sure what their order is, but it depends on how the chairs are laid out and who sits where. Once you get strapped into your chair and the close out crew, the guys, the folks in the white jumpsuits, check that everything's connected, your comms connected, your oxygen's connected, your cooling's connected, your communication is connected.

When all that is checked and then your seatbelt is buckled, then Reid will have things he has to do as the commander on his checklist and then subsequent to that, everybody that enters the capsule will do the same process and then they will have things that they have to start looking at and checking. Eventually, there will be a communication effort with everybody so that the crew talks to the launch control team and the mission control team in Houston. Once those comm checks are done, for me as a mission specialist, I didn't have as much to do as the pilot and commander and so sitting on my back like that, you know, my focus at the time was I kind of had to use my diaper and I was worried about that piece of it.

[14:35:00]

But then as you get closer and you listen to all that's being communicated, you understand where you are in the countdown and you understand how things are projecting and how they're progressing without having to look out a window and see what's going on. So I'm sure they're very excited waiting outside the count point return.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

CLAYTON: Go ahead.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Clayton, there was there was a point there was a point that you'd brought up previously that I wanted to ask you about because you mentioned that you were nervous when you were on the astrovan about drinking some of the water because perhaps by the time you got to the launch pad you might have to go to the restroom. What happens if one of the pilots -- one of the astronauts I should say right now just says like hey like man I really got to go.

What is the protocol there?

ANDERSON: Well you I'm guessing they're all wearing a MAG NASA calls it a max maximum absorbency garment. That's code word for diaper and but I would caution everybody just simply using a diaper as an adult is a lot more difficult than when we were tiny and laying on your back and trying to fill that diaper while laying on your back is another training exercise you can go through at home with your friends and neighbors. So and the thing for me is I don't know this suit at all, and they tell me that it's got the ability to have food for six days and water for six days and hygiene for six days. Man, I'd like to know how that works.

SANCHEZ: Yes, yes us too Clayton. Thank you so much for giving us that color and perspective. Perspective you will only hear here on CNN.

We're going to take a quick break as Victor Glover and Christina Koch get ready to enter the Orion capsule. They're headed to lunar orbit on a mission unlike any we've seen NASA undertaken half a century so stay tuned for the latest from Kennedy Space Center.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Trump is set to address the nation tonight after earlier claiming Iran is seeking a ceasefire which Tehran denies. Trump posting on Truth Social saying the U.S. would only consider a ceasefire once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. In several new interviews today the president is again voicing his frustration with NATO allies for their lack of support in the war saying he's considering withdrawing the U.S. from the alliance.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is with us now. Kylie tell us about these new threats as it pertains to NATO and the timing of them.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well we've heard these threats from President Trump in the past but what's different here is that there is really bold language that he is using in these two interviews over the course of the last 24 hours. Telling the Telegraph that it is beyond reconsideration that the U.S. would pull out of NATO. Telling Reuters that he is absolutely considering withdrawing and calling NATO a paper tiger.

A few things to consider here. Obviously, he is frustrated as he has been in recent weeks due to the fact that NATO allies have not offensively supported the U.S. with this war in Iran. But he is also saying in these interviews that NATO has never stood by the United States, been friends when the United States needed them. That is not factually true of course the only singular time in history when Article 5 which is a attack on one is an attack on all was actually triggered was following 9-11 -- those terrorist attacks on the United States.

But a few other things to consider here, the mechanics of this. Can President Trump actually unilaterally make this decision on behalf of the United States? Well there is a law that was passed in 2023, notably it was co-sponsored by then Senator Marco Rubio now President Trump's Secretary of State which would require advising consent from Congress for the U.S. pulling out of NATO. So that would be a major factor that would ultimately be determined by the courts as to whether President Trump could actually unilaterally make this decision. And I do want to note that we haven't heard from NATO in response to these new threats. They obviously don't want to make this situation any worse and further aggravate President Trump -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, maybe don't breathe life into these threats. We'll see. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for that report.

And let's go back now to Boris at the Kennedy Space Center, where I dare say, Boris, things are proceeding quite well.

SANCHEZ: They are just a little bit ahead of time by a few minutes right now. NASA is very confident that Artemis II is going to take off tonight, Brianna, and so is President Trump. He just posted on Truth Social a few moments ago, writing that tonight at 6:24 p.m. Eastern -- we should note that's when the launch window opens, not exactly when Artemis II will take off. For the first time in over 50 years, America is going to go back to the moon. Artemis II, among the most powerful rockets ever built, is launching our brave astronauts farther into deep space than any human has ever gone. He goes on to say that the United States is winning in space, on Earth, and everywhere in between.

God bless our incredible astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the United States of America.

These are live images coming from inside the White Room just before the astronauts enter the Orion capsule.

[14:45:00]

They are headed back to the moon for the first time in over half a century, the last time -- or rather the first time that man stepped foot on the lunar surface some 57 years ago. The unforgettable images and sound from that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL ARMSTRONG, APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT: Beautiful view. Isn't that something? Magnificent sight out here.

BUZZ ALDRIN, APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT: Magnificent desolation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Breaking news to CNN, an inside look at the Orion space capsule where the Artemis II astronauts are now strapped in, getting ready for what will be a 10-day voyage unlike any other. The astronauts are going to have quite a time on board during this trip.

[14:50:00]

They've got special food designated, a series of tests and experiments that have to be conducted. But for the first time, astronauts are exiting Earth's orbit with a particular device that Commander Reid Wiseman talked about. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WISEMAN, MISSION COMMANDER, ARTEMIS II MISSION: We do have personal computing devices so we can load stuff on them. We also got iPhones recently. So I don't think I can actually say that as a government employee.

We have small, highly powerful computing devices that we will take with us with outstanding cameras. So we can throw a few things on that. It's just, it is really nice.

We will get those devices tonight. Here are our flight devices and we'll be able to load a few things on there. I think family photos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And I'm going to go ahead and say it right now. I'm going to like those pictures on social media. No doubt.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: They're very active on social media, these astronauts.

SANCHEZ: Pete, one of the notable things about this voyage and a scientific aspect to the ability to take an iPhone or a miniaturized, special computerized device, however Reid Wiseman described it, is that there's an intense amount of radiation in space. And being able to use something like an iPhone out there is in itself a scientific achievement, but it underscores some of the risks that the astronauts face.

Again, there is intense radiation out there. They could be exposed to it.

MUNTEAN: Intense risk, and it wasn't something that was so well known during the Apollo era. Now there is essentially a maneuver that the astronauts can do, a procedure. If they, for some reason, encounter a solar flare that's putting off a lot of intense radiation, they essentially hide behind things that they can stack up in the Integrity capsule, the Orion capsule.

And then of course, there are just so many things. You know, we're not totally out of the woods yet when it comes to launching, even though things seem extremely positive. And according to NASA -- and I've been listening to NASA TV in my other ear -- they said earlier that things have been very smooth, a very smooth countdown so far.

We're only three hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds out. You know, the big issue has been hydrogen. And that is what stopped a wet dress rehearsal about eight weeks ago.

Today, we have topped off the core stage and the upper stage of the SLS, the Space Launch System, which has never carried humans before, by the way, with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. And what you're seeing, if you see the live image of the capsule there in the bottom left, is some of that venting off. It has to be super cooled to remain stable.

And so it's now in essentially what's called replenish mode, where it boils off some, but they have to keep the temperature at negative 400 degrees Celsius. This is a very volatile fuel. And now it is really sort of boiling off there.

You can see the venting. Things can change so much. And then beyond that is the weather.

And that continues to be an X factor here. I just pulled up the live radar. There are some pop-up storms here, and there are so many criteria when it comes to weather that is preset for this launch.

And even if there is a storm producing lightning that is far, far away, that could produce an issue. Now, there are lightning strike towers that surround Launch Pad 39B here, where if there is a strike, that is supposed to essentially discharge that strike and take it down to the ground. But even during the Artemis I launch, there was a lightning strike that was very, very close to that launch.

Thankfully, nobody on board, but it's the closest there's ever been a lightning strike to one of these launches.

SANCHEZ: There are very sensitive electronics on board that could be very negatively impacted by something like a lightning strike. Clayton Anderson, while we have you, as Pete is outlining some of the obstacles that may still be standing in the way, it seems like NASA's very confident that this mission is going to move forward. What are you watching for?

What of those hurdles do you think will be the most significant one now that the lingering issue with hydrogen leaks appears to have been resolved?

ANDERSON: Since the tanks of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are full and they're venting appropriately, that is a good sign. There aren't any leaks in that system, apparently. They're going to keep a constant look at the weather, because as you said many times, Houston, or Houston -- Florida has many pop-up storms that come about, and you do have to worry about the things you cited in the weather.

But it looks to me like everything is looking very good, and it's a very positive outlook for Artemis II to launch today. We'll just have to see. I think probably for me, the biggest ticket is going to be the weather, if everything else continues to perform nominally as it apparently is.

[14:55:00]

SANCHEZ: Yes, the weather always an X factor in my home state of Florida. You never know when a storm is going to pop up randomly. Hopefully we get clear skies later this evening when the launch window opens.

Clayton Anderson, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us. Pete, we're going to see you in the next hour.

We're going to keep watching as final preparations get underway ahead of the Artemis II launch, that launch window. Now about three hours and a half away, these astronauts are strapped in. They're going through a series of checks, and they are headed where no one has been before, the dark side of the moon.

Headed there, going about 17,000 plus miles an hour. It is going to be a spectacle. You'll want to stay tuned for it.

CNN returns in just a moment.

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