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Iran War; Mission To The Moon; Jonathan, 193-Year-Old Giant Tortoise, Is Alive. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired April 03, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I wonder, and considering that we know there has been another US jet that was hit by Iran, it managed to make it to safety, unlike this one. But knowing that Iran does still have some capabilities, what are your concerns for how the American people are now understanding what is happening here?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, the problem is because the President has no idea how to get out of this mess that he started, he might very well escalate further. And in a sense, the war is already escalating because now they have successfully shot down a US plane, they may have a US hostage. I mean, I just wrote an op-ed about the challenges that would before us if they did take hostages, whether from ground troops or pilots. Well, now we're seeing that play out right now.

So the danger is that we don't know where to go next. The President has no plan to end this war. And if he thinks he's going to get out of it by escalating, it's probably going to cost a lot more American lives and it's going to be even harder to get back to the negotiating table.

At the end of the day, whether we've taken out half of their launchers or 3/4 of their launchers or 90 percent, what only matters in the long run is what they rebuilt and what they do next. Unless we want to go to war with Iran every three or four years, then he's got to have a plan to bring this to a conclusion that's more than just a military action to take out some percentage of their launchers that they're just going to rebuild anyway.

KEILAR: Iran's missile capability could include launchers that are underground, including in tunnels and caves that could be moving launchers. Iran could to evade American strikes. Does that lend credence to the administration's assertion at the beginning of the war that what Iran is doing is actually building a conventional weapons shield to protect their nuclear ambitions?

MOULTON: Yes, that's a legitimate theory and I've always thought that it's a problem for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. But it's interesting that the President started by saying we need a deal. Basically the same deal that he tore up in his first term, the deal that Obama had secured and that his own administration certified Iran was following. That deal prevented Iran from ever building a nuclear weapon.

And most importantly, it had intrusive inspections and electronic monitoring so we could see exactly what they were doing and respond if they violated the deal. We don't have any of that right now, so we don't even know the exact status of their nuclear weapons program. We know the President's lying about it because he told us last summer it was obliterated, and yet now in his speech just a couple of nights ago, he's saying we have to bomb it further. We may even have to send troops in to extract the uranium.

But the bottom line is that, unless we have a diplomatic deal at the end of the day that prevents them from building a nuclear weapon and actually has inspections and controls to catch them if they start, then we're right back to where were when this all began. Except that we've lost an untold number of American lives, 13, maybe 14 so far, and billions and billions of dollars of American taxpayer money. I don't think that's what the American people want us to be spending money on right now.

KEILAR: Congressman Seth Moulton, we appreciate you being with us.

MOULTON: Good to see you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Thank you. You're looking at a live view now from inside the Orion capsule. This is about 109,000 miles above earth. We have a live update on the historic Artemis II mission right after this.

[15:33:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, NASA is giving an update on the historic Artemis II moon mission that will take humankind farther from Earth than we've ever been? Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE)

JUDD FRIELING, ARTEMIS II ASCENT FLIGHT DIRECTOR: C1 is what it's called, orbiter trajectory correction. The systems are doing so well. Navigation and propulsion systems together, that was not needed so we roll that in to the next planned trajectory correction tomorrow. And I'll hand it over to Howard to talk any specifics on the Orion systems.

HOWARD HU, NASA ORION PROGRAM MANAGER: Thanks, Judd. Great to be here again. Let's see. Our subsystems continue to perform very well. Everything is nominal and as expected, so really good to report that today to you.

As Judd said, we did the translunar injection yesterday and we get a chance to look at the data and the propellant usage was within 5 percent of our predicted usage limits. So it was really good to see it go so well and the performance for that 5 minutes 50 seconds was outstanding.

Let's see. Across other subsystems, no issues relative to solar array power generation. The air revitalization system is doing very well. We are scrubbing CO2 at very good healthy levels. We're keeping the humidity in the right range. The crew obviously you've seen looks like they're enjoying their time in the cabin. And across various other subsystems, like I said earlier, we're performing as expected or better in some cases.

Now, we do are working through one issue with the SM prop in terms of pressurization. So we have helium that pressurizes the propellant tanks, basically pushes out the oxidizer and the fuel in order to make some of the major burns. And so we had to, I had to shut off isolate one of the branches.

[15:40:17]

We have redundant branches in the system. No emission impacts. This is why we build redundancy in the system. But we're evaluating that, we're looking at that. That's maybe something you heard on the loop relative to what we need to do to isolate this particular branch.

The second branch is ready to go. And when I say no mission impacts, we're able to perform the rest of the burns across the mission without doing any regulation, what we call blowdown mode. In other words, there's enough helium pressure in the tanks itself that we can push out the oxidizer and the fuel without needing to regulate or require more helium from the helium tanks. So overall, our redundant capabilities are providing the coverage that we need as we move across the mission.

Let's see. Yesterday also, I think somebody asked this question, but the crew was able to exercise. And I said yesterday, I think we talked a little about any performance implications on the guidance navigation control system and talked to our experts. And there were no implications on that. So performed as expected in terms of what we thought, the forces that would get imparted when the crew does the flywheel that we've addressed.

We addressed that very clearly through our design. And I'm happy to see that performance held up very well. Let's see. I have, I guess, my own couple images that Lakiesha showed you some. And I have a couple of my favorites.

So the first one is just awesome to see from our spaceship, out the window, our beautiful home planet, the Earth. I believe Reid took this picture. And it just brings a lot of great emotion to me to see that picture being taken. I know there's a lot of other pictures that we're going to see that are just going to be outstanding and fantastic to be able to enjoy.

And then the second one, I had not seen the crew in a while. I've obviously heard them, but to see them in the interview. I do believe that. I think Jeremy is too comfortable that way. I'm not sure he's working that hard, so I'm going to have to check to see if he's doing anything more than just laying there on the side here.

But great to see the crew, great to see their smiling faces and hear them talk about their experience already so far. And I can't wait to talk to them when they land home back Earth. And I think that's it for me today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thank you. We will go ahead and start our Q&A session. If you're in the room, please raise your hand if you have any questions. And if you're on our phone bridge, please press star one.

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

SANCHEZ: We're going to keep monitoring this Artemis II update. It sounds like everything is going really well.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: There was a helium container that had to be isolated. I think I know what that means, I'm not sure. The good news is that they have redundancy --

KEILAR: What does that mean? What do you think that means?

SANCHEZ: The good news is that they have redundancy --

KEILAR: When I isolate a helium container --

SANCHEZ: There's another branch.

KEILAR: Is that what you mean?

SANCHEZ: Maybe. Maybe they're trying to alter their voices. It has something to do with propellant, so.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Maybe CNN's Ed Lavandera knows. He's been standing by and he's --

KEILAR: Different than what I do.

SANCHEZ: And it sounds like it's good news overall. You're shaking your head.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, because I know you guys are setting me up to start talking about helium containers and, you know, the only thing we -- please, please.

KEILAR: Take it away, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Please don't. Yes, the high pitched voices, that's about all we know about helium, anyway. But the bottom line is, I think every indication we're getting is that things are going smooth. What is interesting is that, they are supposed to do this correction burn turn on the engines to make sure that the capsule is still on the proper path to slingshot around the moon. It sounds like because they are on the proper trajectory and everything's in doesn't -- on the proper path.

It doesn't sound like they need it at the moment. Christina Koch apparently was heard on the feed saying that we get a snow day today so they will delay that until tomorrow. So that is a good sign, and you can really kind of get a sense of we're starting to get these images, just stunning images from the crew as they make this four day journey to the moon.

And you know a lot of the camera work that is up there, you know, spectacular to look at. But when they get to the other side of the moon they're going to be taking crucial images of the lunar surface. And they've actually been trained in crash course in geology so that they can kind of get a better sense of what they're going to be looking at. So they're preparing for all of that.

But it really was stunning to see those first images of the entire crew together. You know they're kind of giving the Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, a little bit of a hard time. They should ease up on the guy. He's six foot two, crammed into that little space above that cargo net with all of that gear around it.

[15:40:00]

And that's actually one of the other things that the crew is having to navigate, too, is learning how to configure, and then reconfigure, and then move things around, depending on what kind of work they need to be doing. And so, that's the other thing that they're kind of testing out over these next few days is just how to work in that confined space.

KEILAR: Yes. It really is a little space, certainly. I'm just amazed at this moment where they're kind of heading in the direction they need to go and it's just little adjustments if they need to make them. Just a little bit here and there. It's amazing.

SANCHEZ: Maybe some helium voices too, who knows?

KEILAR: They're fun.

SANCHEZ: Ed Lavandera, thank you so much for that update. We'll keep monitoring the press conference.

LAVANDERA: Sounds really funny.

KEILAR: Hi, Ed.

SANCHEZ: That's our gift. Stay with us, we're going to keep moderating this press conference and bringing the latest as we get it. Don't go anywhere. CNN will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back. We're listening to the latest update. Are you laughing?

SANCHEZ: I was -- no, not at all.

KEILAR: Yes, you were laughing.

SANCHEZ: There was a dramatic pause.

KEILAR: There was. There was. Yes.

SANCHEZ: We're going to talk about helium.

KEILAR: It was a dramatic pause because this is so exciting. It's our latest update on the historic Artemis II mission to the moon. We're having a lot of fun. They're having too much fun, some might say, but we're having a good time. Because this is now 109,000 miles from Earth, and before the news conference, these four astronauts on board spoke with their families for the first time since Wednesday's launch, which is just such a nice chance for them to do that.

SANCHEZ: It's so touching and spirits are so high right now. So let's talk to Craig Sumner, a retired NASA engineer whose aerospace career spanned more than 50 years. Craig, thanks so much for being with us. First, we try to explain it a moment ago, and I think I utterly failed.

KEILAR: You explained it well to me in the commercial break there.

SANCHEZ: There was an issue with helium compression in one of these tanks that's used to sort of course correct the vehicle on the way to the moon, but there are so many redundancies on board that it wasn't really an issue at all. And ultimately they're on such a precise trajectory to the moon that they don't even actually have to burn any propellant today. Is all of that accurate?

CRAIG SUMNER, RETIRED NASA ENGINEER: That's pretty accurate. You know, it's not anything to do with a voice change. They're actually pressurizing the tanks so that the fuel will be down at the pumps so they don't cavitate. They're ready to fly, use their engines, that is, and be able to make burns when they need to. So it's just rocket science.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Just rocket science.

KEILAR: You were better with the rocket science than I was there, Boris. But, Craig, talk to us a little bit about, they're doing a lot of science, but there's also this moment that I think is important for them and also just really important for their families, right, to be able to video call them for the first time during the mission. How does that kind of work? How often do they get to do it and why is that so important?

SUMNER: Well, it really is important. I used to sit on console being part of the mission management team, and I can only imagine what it would be like for the families to be able to see in clarity and color as opposed to back in the (inaudible) days when we had black and white grainy TVs to see what's going on. This brings them a little bit closer to home, keeps the families in touch and I think allows them to do their jobs without worrying about their families back home or the families worrying about them. SANCHEZ: Yes. It's got to be a relief for them to hear their voices and see them doing well, especially as they're on their way to a place almost no one has ever been. Talk to us, Craig, about mission control in Houston, who's there, what are they working on during the 10 day mission?

SUMNER: So it's always interesting. Soon as they clear the tower down at the Kennedy Space Center, you switch over from the launch director to the flight director. And the flight director have been practicing for years now to get this mission ready to go up running. So the direct control is from the Johnson Space Flight Center with a backup capability still here at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Again, all this redundancy is in there, so we don't miss a beat.

Looks like the crew's having a good time. The fact that they're not having to make mid-course corrections is a real compliment, I guess, to the crew and the flight planning. And they're on their way. I guess they're about halfway to the moon. They're able to look forward to see where they're going, and look back to see where they've come from and look at how fragile Mother Earth is back home.

KEILAR: Yes. What a view they're getting. This is a -- it's a test mission. This is a goal of achieving another moon landing by 2028, which is just around the corner. So as you're looking at this three days in, how are they working toward that goal? Doing a pretty good job here?

SUMNER: Well, it's kind of really cool. You know, I got to watch the Apollo came to NASA six months after Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon, and then got involved early on in what my job was going to be, which is a, was a real time mission support for the lunar roving vehicle that was down on the moon's surface.

So as they start getting closer and closer, they've got templates in front of them that they're following and that's really what they're doing. They're following the processes for which they've been trained for now months. And it's kind of exciting to watch this vehicle lift off yesterday versus when I was in person watching Apollo 16 taking off.

They lumbered off the launch pad. We weren't sure just how long it was going to take them to get going. And then yesterday, you probably saw something very similar to the space shuttle, where they leaked off, and we're doing 100 miles an hour before the clear of the tower.

Kind of interesting, these folks have experienced the full 17,500 miles an hour to put them in low Earth orbit, and then that translunar ignition to get them on their way to the -- on the way to the moon. To get out of the Earth's gravity, get in the pull of the moon's gravity, start picking speed back up from where they are right now and be able to go rendezvous around the moon and come back home.

[15:55:06]

I know they're excited to see things that nobody else has seen before and give us that human experience of what they're actually viewing out the window. I don't think the camera does the whole job, so it's really great having the human experience.

SANCHEZ: We are so excited to share those views with them as they transmit them back to Earth. Craig Sumner, thanks so much for being with us.

SUMNER: Glad to be here. Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: We'll be right back. Go Artemis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've got some good news to share when it comes to a bizarre story that riveted people around the world. Jonathan, he's alive. This handsome guy, the 193-year-old giant tortoise who was reported dead earlier this week, breaking hearts across the globe. Those reports apparently part of a scam targeting Jonathan's many fans.

[16:00:01]

KEILAR: Well, Jonathan has seen a lot in those 193 years. To put into context, back in 1832, there were 24 states, Andrew Jackson was president, the city of Buffalo, New York, was incorporated. He's old. Yes, he knew all of that stuff.

SANCHEZ: But handsome and wise.

KEILAR: And we're going to not miss him because he's alive. THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.