To the moon, for good?
By Brendan Byrne
On flight day 13, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet. Orion has now traveled farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.
NASA's Artemis I mission is past its halfway mark -- the uncrewed Orion capsule slinging past the far side of the moon. The next big step is making it back to Earth safe.
The mission ushers in a new era of lunar exploration with astronauts making the trip next. NASA wants to establish a permanent base at the moon -- are we any closer to that goal now? We'll chat with Laura Forczyk, a space policy analyst, about the sustainability of the moon.
Then, scientists are already preparing for long-term visits to the moon -- and trying to grow plants in lunar soil. We'll revisit a conversation with NASA senior scientist Sharmila Bhattacharya about what researchers have learned so far.
Brendan Byrne
Brendan covers space news for WMFE, everything from rocket launches to the latest scientific discoveries in our universe. He hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration. Brendan is a native Floridian, born and raised in Broward County. He moved to Central Florida in 2005 to attend the University of Central Florida. He began working at WMFE as a college intern where he discovered his love for public radio.
See stories by Brendan Byrne