Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Mission To The Moon: Artemis II Launch. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired April 01, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Ten, nine, eight, seven, RS-25 engines linked, four, three, two, one -- booster ignition and liftoff.
The crew of Artemis II, now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good roll pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Roll pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston now controlling the flight of integrity on the Artemis II mission around the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The integrity, AMT high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On time passing 30 seconds, the flight's integrity passes the ultimate target milestone. Mission control Houston see good performance, engines, space launch system core stage integrity, three miles in altitude, traveling more than three miles per mission to last time, passing one minute approaching max Q.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on Ponce de Leon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stan, we have you loud and clear on Ponce de Leon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Communication signal transfer confirmed as integrity and its crew go supersonic, approaching 90 seconds into the Artemis II mission. Integrity is 14 miles in altitude, eight miles downrange, traveling more than 2,600 miles --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The Orion capsule, carrying four astronauts is now in space, beginning its 10-day journey that will take them 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the moon, the farthest humans have ever gone into space.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is at a watch party inside NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Ed, there was a lot of cheering here behind me. I imagine you saw some
of that, too.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yeah. Houston, we are having no problems, but a very, very good time here. We're about 1,300 people gathered at Space Center Houston, which is the visitor center right next door to Johnson Space Center.
They filled up this lobby, and I can tell you it was an electric moment watching there on the big screen of the launch here. All of these people in a community that has been so intertwined with the NASA space program for decades and decades. So, this really kind of hitting to the heart of this community, all these people who either are directly working for NASA or have friends, some sort of connection to it, this moment means so much to so many people.
And it was just electric. And what really struck me, Boris, as we were watching the launch, is that after that initial as you watch the rocket boosters take off and the and the eruption from the engines sending this rocket out into space, there were times where it was just eerily quiet in here, everybody on pins and needles watching what was going to happen, watching that rocket lift into outer space.
And, you know, on the edge of their seat. I talked to a lot of people who talked about it was a nerve-wracking experience. This is a test flight. This, you know, the deep concerns about exactly how this was going to play out, very risky mission, all of that and that tension and excitement and euphoria. We experienced and watched firsthand here this afternoon -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: It was unbelievable to witness.
Ed Lavandera live for us in Houston, thank you so much.
At any moment now, another key part of this mission, the solar array wings on Artemis II will deploy, transitioning the vessel from battery power to solar power as it makes -- as it makes its way toward the moon.
Joining us now is an actor who holds the record for being the oldest person to travel to space, William Shatner.
Sir, thank you so much for being with us. You at 90 years old in 2021, you traveled to space.
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Thank you for inviting me.
SANCHEZ: How -- of course. How did it feel like watching today's launch?
SHATNER: Well, I was as tense as everybody with the knowledge of everything that could go wrong and the things that details that did go wrong, that delayed the program. And then with liftoff was achieved, what a shaking of the fist for the victory. And what a -- what a plug for American technology and American space program. When I was on a spaceship getting ready to liftoff, the countdown got
to about 14. And the guy said, all right, were going to move the gantry back. Anybody who wants to get off should get off now -- what? And that was our countdown. That certainly didn't happen there.
But the fear that must be mixed with the sense of victory with those people incarcerated in that ship, with all their practice, with all their ingenuity, with all their technology, the fear of what could possibly happen must be lurking somewhere. And it certainly was in my brain.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. No doubt. You say incarcerated.
[19:05:00]
I have no doubt that there is nowhere else those four astronauts would rather be right now than locked into that Orion capsule.
I want to ask you about the feelings that you have --
SHATNER: You know --
SANCHEZ: -- seeing the beauty of earth from space. And I remember you being somewhat melancholic about it, speaking about the Earth's vulnerability. Tell us about that.
SHATNER: Well, that's exactly what happened. I went to the window to look at the magic, and I saw this black, palpable, darkness, which was death. And I looked behind me and I saw the beige of the desert and the white of the clouds and the blue, the sky. That's life. That's death.
And I thought what we're doing to our planet. And when we landed, I was overcome with this terrible feeling of sadness. I didn't know what it was. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was in grief for the beauty of our planet, which we are, destroying at a rapid rate, and how important it is for us to stop and take a breath and, and, and go back to, healing our planet, which will heal us as well.
And all these technical programs going to the moon, going to Mars is all part of a technology that we need to use to heal the planet.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. And obviously for these astronauts having the perspective that you had, albeit from a different vantage point, I imagine is going to be something that they will never forget. And I'm excited for them to share it with the world, with the iPhones they're taking up there. One of the big firsts on this trip, another first one of your fellow Canadians is making history during this mission.
Jeremy Hansen will be the first Canadian --
SHATNER: I know.
SANCHEZ: -- ever to venture into lunar orbit. I mean, you spoke about with pride about American technology a moment ago. What does this mean for Canadian pride? SHATNER: Well, Canadians contributed to all that. And of course there
was a previous Canadian, a space program and this Canadian, Hayden, it's remarkable what the -- Canada with its much smaller population and technological advancement has added to the space program. Were very proud of what Canadians have contributed to this exploration of space -- exploration of mankind's reach, the possibility of going to Mars and discovering more about the mystery of the universe.
All that so many nations have contributed, led by America, and its questionable excellence in technological advancement
SANCHEZ: It certainly makes us feel patriotic to watch this unfold and to have NASA leading the way this way.
William Shatner, thank you so much for sharing your evening with us. It's incredible to have this moment to share with you. Thanks for being with us
SHATNER: I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for allowing me.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
We are back with our panel now.
Miles O'Brien. First to you, William Shatner describing the Orion capsule as the astronauts being incarcerated. And there's not something I had on the bingo card.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYT: It's not exactly hard time.
SANCHEZ: It's so great to hear from him.
O'BRIEN: I just want what he's having. He's, what, 95? And he -- look at him, man. He's fabulous.
You know, a couple of things. The Canadians do punch above their weight when it comes to space. And they have all along. And it's impressive when you look at the Canadarm, the robot arm and the shuttle, the contributions they've made over the years are truly per capita, way beyond what you would expect from a country.
The other thing I'd like to point out here is this moment, in sort of the melancholy, bittersweet nature of it comes after a really tough year for NASA. It faced draconian budget cuts, 20 percent across the board, 50 percent for space science. That was all clawed back by Congress, fortunately. And an additional $10 billion was given to the program. This particular program, to ensure that Artemis continues.
So, this has been, you know, annus horribilis for NASA with a cherry on top of just a great moment of joy and a new leader who is widely recognized by the NASA rank and file, is taking the agency in the right direction, Jared Isaacman.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, triumphant moment for NASA administrator.
We have Swapna Krishna with us. She's a space journalist. Thanks so much for joining our conversation.
I mean, you got to see it in person. I'm sure you were sort of shaking like the rest of us were. What did it feel like?
SWAPNA KRISHNA, SPACE JOURNALIST: Oh, I cried.
CADY COLEMAN, RETIRED U.S. ASTRONAUT: Is it your first one?
KRISHNA: It's not my first launch, but I've been waiting to see this one. I came down to cover Artemis I, but I wasn't able to come back for the second attempt.
So, this -- I definitely cried it. It was -- it was. It's hard to describe for people who have never seen a launch, how you feel it in your chest and how orange that flame is. And it is just shocking.
SANCHEZ: It's hard to look at.
KRISHNA: It is.
SANCHEZ: It's extremely bright. Obviously, it's hard to tell on TV, but those flames, I mean, it hurts.
KRISHNA: It hurts. Absolutely. And it hurts your ears. And it's just such a visceral, overwhelming experience. And then if you love space, it also makes you very emotional, as it did me.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
And I wonder, Cady, as you hear that reaction, that is part of what NASA wants to evoke in a generation of young people in order to get into stem, in order to pursue not only science, but also aeronautics as a field. It's part of the reason that they're pursuing this mission.
COLEMAN: Well, space is always -- I mean, people love to hear about space, but it's always really clear how difficult the missions are. And so, when young people, old people, all of us see the impossible right in front of our eyes, be possible, it changes something in their brain. And there's things that they then will address and be part of because they realize that no matter, no matter how hard it is, they can make that happen.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, it expands your understanding of what is possible, right?
COLEMAN: Really does.
SANCHEZ: I also wanted to ask you, what do you think of the fact that this is going to be, one of many steps as NASA tries to go further and further into deep space, potentially within the decade to Mars?
KRISHNA: I'm ready for it. I've been waiting for this mission my entire life. Like this has been. I've been waiting to go back to the moon. I've loved space ever since I was a young child, and I cannot wait. I'm so excited for what's to come. You know, we've built on a great
foundation with shuttle and the International Space Station, and now we're going back and it's amazing.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. What is the next step that you're watching for as this mission unfolds? That will let you know, sort of like how it's going, how the tests have gone in order to sort of set that table for Artemis III and beyond?
KRISHNA: I think there's a lot of really cool stuff that's going to happen in the next 24 hours. The proxy, the proxy ops demo, the proximity operations is something I'm really looking at for that manual control of Orion. I'm really curious about the spacesuits, the radiation shielding that they're going to test.
But personally, I'm looking so forward with this launch date, it's very likely they'll get an eclipse from the far side of the moon. They'll get to see an eclipse. And what does that even look like? I'm so excited for this lunar flyby.
SANCHEZ: It is going to be something spectacular to watch. Getting to the moon takes more than just a powerful launch. It also takes a crucial follow up boost.
CNN's Tom Foreman, in just moments, is going to show us what helps send the Artemis II into a high orbit.
And check this out. We have the moment that a crowd at a watch party in Huntsville, Alabama, where some of Artemis was constructed as they react to liftoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bound for the moon, humanity's next great voyage begins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:17:23]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten, nine, eight, seven, RS-25 engines linked, four, three, two, one -- booster ignition and liftoff. The crew of Artemis II, now bound for the moon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Celebration, not only here in Florida's space coast, but around the country and around the world. As Artemis II heads to where no one has been before.
We're back live from Florida's Kennedy Space Station with a special edition of ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT on this historic day. The Orion capsule carrying four astronauts now in space, headed toward the far side of the moon.
I'm joined again by two space experts, twin brothers and retired astronaut, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Scott Kelly.
Thank you both for being here.
Now, on the other side of the launch, what did you think.?
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): That was so exciting. I hadn't seen something like that in a long time, since -- well, the second to last shuttle flight. I was on it.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
KELLY: But to be here at this moment, sending two U.S. or three U.S. astronauts in a Canadian to the other side of the moon is just so exciting. Great day for our country.
SANCHEZ: Scott. I didn't fully appreciate how much we would feel. We were trying to describe what being inside the capsule was like, but even over here, a few miles away from the launch pad your body shakes, the noise is overwhelming, and it's so bright. The flames, the exhaust coming from those engines, it's like the sun. It's hard to look at.
SCOTT KELLY, RETIRED ASTRONAUT: Yeah, it's physically very impressive, but also emotionally impressive to have, you know, four people, three Americans, one Canadian flying to the moon. It's -- you know, it's really a great day for America and Canada.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. What are the next ten days going to be like, Scott, for the astronauts inside the capsule right now as they're going through procedures and testing systems and first going around the earth and then slingshotting toward the moon.
S. KELLY: You know, they'll be very busy checking out the systems on the spacecraft. I mean, that's the primary mission objective is to get this ready for the next flight. Prove out the systems and later, you know, two or three flights from now, hopefully land on the moon. They do have some science they're going to do, but its primarily a test of the vehicle itself.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. I wonder, I've heard it described different ways, this Orion capsule. It's like a two minivans, the interior space of two minivans, a six-person tent. I heard Pete Muntean say.
Is there any privacy in there? Do you get much time for yourself? No?
M. KELLY: No.
SANCHEZ: Really. Acquainted with your neighbors?
M. KELLY: No. It's a lot smaller than what we had on the space shuttle. But it has to be. You're sending this thing all the way to the moon. It's got four people on it. [19:20:00]
They -- they've been working and training together for a long time.
They're all good friends. They know each other very well. It's by design. It is cramped quarters. There's no privacy.
You're doing everything in the same spot and you're sleeping in the same basically in the same place you're doing your job.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Senator, a moment ago you mentioned a proud day for America. And being here at Kennedy Space Center brings up special memories for me because I came here as a child with my dad. And it makes me sentimental because I'm an immigrant. And so, he used that when I was a child to sort of teach me about America. And he said, look at what Americans do. They reach for impossible things.
I wonder -- seeing something like that, what it does to patriotism and to people's pride in this country, and perhaps a reimagining of what truly makes us great.
M. KELLY: Yeah. I mean, people should be really proud of our country. I mean, we -- we do try to do impossible things and were often very successful at it, right? We landed people on the moon in the 1960s. We're sending these three Americans and a Canadian back around the moon. And here at some point in a few years, we're going to send people down to the surface of the moon. We're going to build a presence there. We're going to build an economy there.
There's not many countries that step up and try to do the impossible. And we have this culture here of innovation. And just like going for it, that you don't see in many places in the world. So, I mean, I think stuff like this is great. I mean, I wish I was on the way to the moon with them. I got to go back to Washington, unfortunately, and try to work on some of the other issues.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, it seems like it'll be a fun time ahead for you with so much going on.
Scott, I imagine this does something to your national pride as well.
S. KELLY: Oh, absolutely. You know, I think I said this earlier, but, you know, we both flew in space four times. And yet I still can't imagine how exciting this is for those four crew members, but also all the people that worked on this mission, I mean, the thousands of people in this country, even around the world, you know, because some of the hardware comes from, just incredible amount of pride today.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. No doubt. There's also something that we haven't talked about, which is the economy of the moon, because I understand that there are ambitious plans to perhaps someday extract resources from the moon. That could be very useful back here on earth for all forms of power. Can you speak to some of that?
M. KELLY: Yeah. Could be. I mean, we often talk about fusion power, which is a technology that is starting to work, right? We got, you know, more power out than we put power in. You know, recently you have these fusion power plants that are being built.
That technology is powered by tritium, a, you know, H3, right? So, tritium is not widely available on earth, but it is on the surface of the moon. So, in theory, I guess you could bring some of it back.
Hey, we've got a lot to learn here. We're just taking the first steps here and trying to do this. But we did build an economy in low earth orbit, you know, with crew members and cargo and new technology and new satellites. We can do that same thing on the surface of the moon.
SANCHEZ: Scott, what are you most looking forward to with this next chapter of deep space exploration?
S. KELLY: Well, I'm just hoping that everything goes right in this mission. I mean, this is just the first step. So, you know, kind of holding my breath a little bit and, we'll just have to wait and see when they get safely home and we'll think about what's next.
SANCHEZ: Scott and Mark Kelly, we hope that you will join us when they do. Thanks so much for being with us.
M. KELLY: Thank you, Boris.
S. KELLY: My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Coming up, just how far will these astronauts travel on this momentous journey and a close up look at what helps the Orion capsule go into a high orbit and then break away from earth's gravity. As Orion continues its mission toward the moon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:28:35]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Ten, nine, eight, seven, RS-25 engines linked, four, three, two, one -- booster ignition and liftoff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We're back live from Florida's Kennedy Space Center with a special edition of ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT on this truly, incredible day.
The Orion capsule carrying four astronauts now in space on the first stage of its mission to the moon and back. But how exactly is it going to get there?
CNN's Tom Foreman is with us in the virtual room.
Tom, this propulsion system called the ICEs. It helps send Orion into a high orbit, help us understand how.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Boris, that's what has to happen now, after that beautiful launch. It now has to get beyond low- earth orbit, about 100 miles up. And that means going much, much further. That relies on the ICPS, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System.
This is another booster which is capable of traveling much higher. It's about 45 feet long, just beneath the capsule there weighs about 72,000 pounds, and with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen provides about 25,000 pounds of thrust. Nothing like the millions it take off. But they're no longer fighting the heavy gravity of earth and the atmosphere of earth, so that's enough to push this into a big, egg- shaped orbit that will reach some more than 40,000 miles into space.
[19:30:04]
Once that's done, the ICPS is going to break off, and the Orion capsule up there will use it as a target in space to practice some maneuvers, but then the isps will drift back to earth, where it will burn up, and all of our focus will be on just the Orion and its service module. They're heading off to the moon -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: An incredible journey it's going to be.
Thank you so much for that, Tom Foreman.
CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is back with more on the path the astronauts are going to take on this 10-day journey.
A little bit of tweaking that might have to happen on the way there.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And what is interesting right now is that they're going to do something called a perigee raise maneuver. It's essentially means raising the altitude of the capsule from earth. So essentially widening the orbit a little bit or making the orbit a little bit further away.
And I just want to show you a bit of what we're talking about here. These are the flight paths. And so, this is day one essentially where we are right now. And so, the SLS and the Orion capsule have lifted off from earth. They're in orbit now.
This is where the perigee raise maneuver starts to begin. It happens around 49, we're just after that. Now we're at 55 minutes since launch. So they're essentially making this orbit, this elliptical orbit a little bit wider and away from earth.
Then later, they'll do something called an apogee raise maneuver. So, we'll go from low earth orbit into high earth orbit, which will be a bit different. That is where there will be some maneuvering done by the crew in the capsule, in the Orion. They'll separate from the ICPS maneuver around it, and essentially fly it like you would fly an airplane.
They're going to maneuver it using the rocket boosters that are integral to the ICPS, so integral to the Orion capsule and maneuver it around the cps to essentially demonstrate that they could be able to dock in future missions and then also be able to maneuver for landing on the moon and future missions. So, this is really setting the pace. This is really setting the
baseline for Artemis III and Artemis IV, when we ultimately go to the moon, hopefully in 2028 where there will be Americans on the moon once again.
SANCHEZ: Cady, we're obviously celebrating an outstanding launch, seemingly very successful, but there's still a lot of work to be done and work with a high degree of difficulty as well.
COLEMAN: Exactly, what Pete was just describing. This basically, once that second stage, I refuse to call it with all the acronyms, right? The second stage, no, the upper stage, we're going to call it the upper stage anyways. Once it separates, it actually has a target on it.
So, they're going to -- it's going to separate. They're going to sort of race away and do a flip maneuver there. Now they're looking back at it and then they're going to approach and they're going to do all sorts of testing of the hand controllers. It's not just to see that everything works, it's to understand exactly how it works related to the simulators that they've been using back home.
SANCHEZ: To calibrate.
COLEMAN: Because we need -- exactly because we need to understand, you know, how those are so that when we're planning for the other missions and the other rendezvous, it's an incredible opportunity. It's a real flight test thing where they're using the harper cooper scale of how hard is it? How much does the pilot have to actually accommodate to use the controls that they have when they give a pulse? Do they get what they expect? Do they not?
And they'll be talking. Victor will -- Victor will be doing the piloting. He'll be talking real time to the flight controllers on the ground saying, "This is how this felt. This is how this felt."
And because all these things fade, I mean, if you I mean, I know it only is a 10-day mission, but it will be hard to remember the intricacies. And they need -- they need -- they need these details.
SANCHEZ: Given everything that these astronauts have witnessed, I imagine that the flight details about how it felt might kind of linger in the back of their mind as they, you know, they just see the far side of the moon.
Miles, how important is that feedback?
O'BRIEN: It's really important. And I would be absolutely shocked if Reid Wiseman didn't take the stick for a little while, right? You know what I mean? I mean, there's two navy guys up there. Come on, Victor, remember who's commander here, right?
(LAUGHTER)
COLEMAN: You know, I mean, it is a full team sport there. I mean, there's a lot to do. I mean, Jeremy is -- you know, everybody's watching procedures and everybody's kind of doing everything. Victor's doing the actual piloting with Reid. It's like one operation. But then Christina is in charge of the measurements.
Basically, there's a grid on the screen. And when you see that interim stage get like bigger in the picture, then they know exactly how far away they are. And that's the only way. They don't have range-finding like our cars.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
COLEMAN: I mean, even I mean, and you think, well, why would they do this intricate thing without that ability? This was added on as an extra task, like, hey, we have an opportunity, there's time. There's propellant. And we could do this thing. And so, it's an extra task that's going to be invaluable.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
MUNTEAN: My eyes went straight to the simulator and the media room. And as a pilot, you know, you can't help but want to go play -- play around. I didn't want to embarrass myself off the bat, but perhaps we should go. It sounds like a good idea to try it. Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
COLEMAN: No.
MUNTEAN: Oh, well, I mean, I want to -- yeah, there's a whole set up with the stick and everything, and I think that we maybe need to go and Miles, too. I think maybe --
COLEMAN: We maybe --
MUNTEAN: All the pilots here.
SANCHEZ: Miles, will you put in a good word.
O'BRIEN: I was -- I was drooling over the same thing.
MUNTEAN: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: We need to do it. Let's get a story in the works.
But this is an important point though. Space flight is so automated --
MUNTEAN: Right.
O'BRIEN: -- that you could easily build a system that sort of keeps -- puts the pilot out of the loop. And it's very important that they have the ability, when needed, to take control of the craft. And this is part of ringing out that system, understanding how it flies, because if you truly are going to set up camp on the moon, not every flight is going to be to a pre-existing or a preordained site.
You're going to have to, you know, do some improvising and you want to know how this craft flies in case you have to take over and fly it in a specific way that isn't part of the plan. So that's, this is beginning that process, understanding everything about how this this bird flies when you're actually controlling it by hand.
MUNTEAN: I think of the scene from "The Right Stuff".
O'BRIEN: Yes.
MUNTEAN: Where they truly want to be able -- the astronauts, the Mercury Seven, want to be able to demonstrate the right stuff and have an ability to impetus of control and have essentially their test pilots and they want to continue test piloting.
And -- and I think the thing that strikes me in this mission is there is actually some piloting here, that they -- these are not just, you know, subjects along for a ride. This is not just a science experiment on a fixed track. This is going to have some real test of the right stuff.
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
SANCHEZ: So, one of the key things about success in this mission is getting these astronauts back to earth safely. I believe in a moment were going to go to Tom Foreman to help explain the sheet field that's on the -- thank you. It's been a long day.
The heat shield, a lot of talking. That's on the Orion capsule and making sure that it's intact as it gets back into earth.
Before we go to Tom, I just -- actually we have it now. So, let's go back to Tom Foreman, who's in the CNN virtual room with details on this heat shield.
Tom, it's essential for astronauts' safe return, right?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: When the Orion capsule comes back in contact with the earth's atmosphere, perhaps the most important part of this spacecraft will be this heat shield down here because Orion will hit the atmosphere at about 25,000 miles an hour, much faster than a typical low earth orbit spacecraft would hit. And that means as the air is compressed below it, it will heat up to about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Half the surface temperature of the sun.
Now, this is an ablative shield, which means it is supposed to erode away against that intense heat. But on Artemis I, a very similar capsule with a similar shield saw uneven erosion at the bottom of it, and that raised some safety concerns.
So, NASA has changed the way that they're bringing this back. The pattern, the approach angle. And they're hoping that that will ease that problem and not let it occur again so that Orion will be able to slow down, pop its parachutes and safely splash down in the ocean
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And we will be looking forward to that safe splashdown as it happens. Thanks to Tom Foreman for bringing that to us.
Miles. Before we get to a splashdown. There are many important landmarks along the way on this journey, and one of them is day six, when the astronauts are going to be actually going around the far side of the moon and losing comms with earth, losing communications with earth for about an hour.
O'BRIEN: They'll be the loneliest humans in the universe. I guess, at that point, right? If you think about it, right? No, you don't see it that way.
COLEMAN: I mean, we had our couple of days in the Soyuz where we launch, and then we spent actually almost two days, just the three of us in a tiny capsule orbiting the earth. And it just -- it felt like being back to the Apollo, Gemini, Mercury days where it is just three people, you know, in a place that belongs to all.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's a good thing they like each other. But, you know, I will say this, it's worth pointing out they are not to get too technical and wonky. They're not orbiting the moon. It's actually a giant orbit of earth and the moon is what they're doing.
And they will be 4,300 miles, I think, above the surface of the moon. Now, the apollo astronauts, apollo eight, for example, all the other missions, they circularized their orbits around the moon and they were much, much lower on the order of 100 miles or thereabouts, I believe.
So, they saw very -- you know, they were up close and personal with the moon and saw narrow swaths. And so, there's actually -- there's kind of a scientific opportunity here for them to see a bigger panorama and actually see portions of the moon that human eyes have not seen without the assistance of a telescope or some other device or some other orbiting craft.
[19:40:13]
And so they've done a ton of work. They went to Iceland and other places to, to become, you know, mini geological experts. This is what astronauts do. They have to become instant experts in a whole range of things.
And they will be looking for places that are of interest and the craters, and also trying to get a little sense, a little bit of a recce on this south pole location, where ultimately NASA would like to build this outpost.
SANCHEZ: Maybe doing some surveying for future real estate. Yeah.
Panel, stay with me.
These four astronauts are traveling farther into space than any human has before. Stay with us as we underscore what it takes and what is still to come in NASA's ambitious mission. Why it could get humans closer one day to landing on Mars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:45:33]
SANCHEZ: We're back with CNNs special coverage of NASAs historic mission to the moon. This momentous day, as we also stand by for President Trump to address the nation about the war with Iran, giving renewed hope and inspiration about what comes next for NASA and American space travel.
CNN is going to bring you live coverage of the president's remarks, which are expected at 9:00 p.m. Eastern in a little bit more than an hour. So, stay tuned for that.
We've talked a lot about the technical processes of this mission, from the flight path to the crew now traveling in space, a historic crew. We want to go to CNN's Ed Lavandera now on why this mission means so much for the history books.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Booster ignition and liftoff.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a successful launch, the four astronauts on Artemis II are now on a risky journey to the far side of the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traveling more than 1,200 miles per hour.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): They're expected to travel farther into deep space than any humans have ever gone before. The crew will travel inside the Orion capsule and orbit the earth twice before traveling about 250,000 miles from Earth, circling the moon before returning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will take about four days once they leave earth's gravity to get to the moon.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The test flight to circumnavigate the moon is part of the Artemis lunar exploration program. It's a test mission designed to prepare future Artemis missions to land on the moon by 2028.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The diverse crew on the Orion spacecraft includes the first woman and the first black person to set off on a lunar mission. NASA's mission commander, 50-year-old Reid Wiseman, is a navy test pilot and a single father of two girls. His wife died of cancer in 2020.
REID WISEMAN, NASA ASTRONAUT: The moon to me, it's the thing that connects me together with all the other humans in my life.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Victor Glover, also a naval test pilot, is the first black person to venture into deep space. He's the father of four kids.
Engineer Christina Koch is the first woman to make the voyage to the moon.
CHRISTINA KOCH, NASA ASTRONAUT: I'm drawn to exploring. I'm drawn to challenges.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): She holds the record for the longest spaceflight by a female astronaut at 328 days on board the International Space Station.
And Jeremy Hansen, a fighter pilot, is the first Canadian and NASA astronaut to head on a lunar mission. It's his first spaceflight.
The crew spent the morning prepping for their mission, the NASA tradition, a lighthearted moment playing cards with their chief. The 10-day, roughly 685,000-mile journey around the moon and back carries dangerous risks. The Orion spacecraft, roughly the size of a cargo van, will face extreme temperatures, high levels of radiation, and incredible feats of physics. When the four astronauts fly by the far side of the moon, they will lose all communication with earth for about 30 to 45 minutes. They will see the earth rise over the moon, like the image first captured by Apollo astronauts, and that Christina Koch had in her room as a child.
JEREMY HANSEN, CANADIAN ASTRONAUT: We spent a lot of time figuring out what are we going to do if were having trouble with the spacecraft? What are the bare basics to give us a fighting chance? Obviously, I've had that conversation with my wife and my children.
LAVANDERA: Why is this so important?
LAVANDERA (voice-over): I spoke with all four members of this crew three years ago, when they were first assigned to the mission. It was clear then they fully understood the magnitude of this moment.
VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS II PILOT: No one aspect of human space exploration is that it unites, it lifts people up, and it pushes you to do things that that seem impossible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: It pushes you to do things that seem impossible. Inspirational words from a man who is now headed to the far side of the moon.
Cady, a moment ago we were joking off camera about and actually on camera a bit too about the loneliness that Miles and I personally would feel, perhaps so far away from the rest of humanity. You seem to relish those moments when you were alone in the International Space Station.
So, tell us about why and what you think these astronauts are going to experience out there in terms of their connection to the rest of us down here on Earth?
COLEMAN: I truly think that it shows people that home is just bigger than we thought. And when you look down and you know that everyone that you know is down there, I didn't feel a part. I just -- I felt like, you know, people are there and we're not -- we're not split up.
[19:50:02]
And I don't know -- it was pretty wonderful to be up there and it was hard to come home.
SANCHEZ: I bet I can only imagine, as the four astronauts now have Artemis II are enjoying themselves.
COLEMAN: I think they'll come back changed and I think they will change us.
SANCHEZ: I certainly hope they might change us.
We're talking -- we're going to talk more about how essential these next 24 hours are for these astronauts and this mission. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with the panel to discuss more about the significance of Artemis II in just minutes.
Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:17]
SANCHEZ: We're back with CNN's special edition of Erin Burnett OUTFRONT, and what we believe are new images of Artemis II. This is the upper stage of Artemis II. You can see planet earth off in the distance.
Cady, you want to wave, see if we can see you waving from here. This -- yeah. The solar arrays are now fully extended on the spacecraft as it heads on its mission toward the moon. Let's bring back the panel for final thoughts about today.
First, on this image, Miles, from NASA TV. I mean, that is just a stunning view.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's just the beginning, isn't it? You know, I'm sure it'll be very interesting to see the Prox Ops, as they call it, as they try to rendezvous and practice flying in space. And then it will be very interesting to see the translunar injection, to see how that goes as the Earth gets smaller and smaller, about the size of a basketball relative to who they are.
And then of course, the -- we'll see the far side of the moon from their eyes in a way we haven't before. Apollo VIII, that was 16 millimeter film. Today, we're doing 4k. We're going to see an upgraded version of that famous earthrise.
And then we're going to be, you know, holding our breath as they come down to make sure that heat shield works well, this -- this mission, you know, nothing succeeds like success. And, and a mission like this can really get some momentum going for this Artemis campaign.
The -- you know, what has happened with the new leadership at NASA? Jared Isaacman, he has reorganized this program in an efficient way that takes a lot of the big milestones and separates them down separate paths so things can happen concurrently and more efficiently. It's a -- it's a breath of fresh air for the program. And assuming this mission goes well, they've got the money to go forward.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, a bright new day for NASA.
Swapna, your final thoughts?
KRISHNA: You know, a lot there are a lot of questions about why are we going to do this? Why are we going? I hear that a lot as a journalist and a science communicator.
And I'm like, you look at an image like this and you, I ask myself, why wouldn't we go looking at that? Like, why wouldn't we want to see what's out there?
I think it's human nature to be curious. And we -- why wouldn't we want to go? And that's like how I feel. I feel so inspired seeing these images, seeing that launch, seeing this mission.
SANCHEZ: Man seeks to explore the way that salmon swim upstream is what Neil Armstrong said about that desire for chasing a new frontier.
Cady Coleman as someone who has been out there and has seen earth as just a kind of a dot, probably much bigger than a dot from the International Space Station, but still, it's pretty far away and impressive as we see in this image.
COLEMAN: It is.
SANCHEZ: Give us your reflections on what's been a historic launch here from Kennedy Space Center.
COLEMAN: Just the fact that this like, where -- as journalists and as people, most of the people around are like, oh, they launched today. They're really going to the moon, but there is a workforce and it is NASA and the international partners and all these companies of people that wake up every morning certain we're going to the moon, we're going to be settling on the moon, and we need to get ready.
And I mean, some of those people will be in Artemis III simulations tomorrow morning, right? I mean, the machine that is exploration really did such a great job today. And it is -- it is a mighty machine and they are wonderful people. And I just give them so much credit for doing something that we only kind of notice when they do the big thing, but they, they're on a path and they are bringing all of us to the moon.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. And today we are in awe of their work. We witnessed history, we witnessed greatness and excellence and the result of hard work and dedication. And obviously, it's just the beginning.
So, thank you all so much for being with us. Thank you so much for joining us. It's been a momentous evening here in Florida.
You can find more coverage of NASA's Artemis II mission and its 10-day journey on the CNN app.
This is a very busy news night. It is far from over. CNN's Kaitlan Collins and John Berman are up next with special coverage of President Trump's primetime address. Thank you for joining us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Ten, nine, eight, seven, RS-25 engines linked, four, three, two, one -- booster ignition and liftoff.
The crew of Artemis II, now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good roll pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Roll pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston now controlling the flight of integrity on the Artemis II mission around the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The integrity, AMT high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
