logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2026
26m 19s

Artemis II: 4. Launch after-party

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The moment we’ve all been waiting for… Nasa’s Artemis II mission has launched.

Next up is the big decision whether to commit to the lunar flyby and the big engine burn that will need. Testing systems and life-support continues, with engine burns slowly lifting the height of the earth orbit, raising the speed at which the Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) leap into history can begin.

Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

13 Minutes Presents Artemis II is a BBC Audio Science production for the BBC World Service.

Presenters: Tim Peake and Maggie Aderin Producers: Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston Series editor: Martin Smith

Up next
Apr 2026
Artemis II: 5. No going back
The loop round the Moon target is confirmed by the last major engine burn of the mission. It’s the first time the European Service Module engine has been used this way.Sian Cleaver of Airbus Defence and Space, who has been central to the construction of the service module joins T ... Show More
34m 22s
Apr 2026
Artemis II: 6. Halfway there
Nasa’s Artemis II crew are now closer to the Moon than they are to Earth. Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher, who gives us the latest on the crew’s momentous journey, as the Integrity spacecraft begins its gen ... Show More
36m 15s
Apr 2026
Artemis II: 7. A Family Photo
With the toilet venting problem endangering the spacecraft Integrity’s Michelin rating, BBC Science Editor Rebecca Morelle drops by to update us on the unmentionables. The team answer more listeners questions; what do we mean by zero-g, and will there ever be permanent relay sate ... Show More
39m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2020
Introducing 13 Minutes to the Moon Season 2
Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story, told by the people who flew it and saved it. Search for 13 Minutes to the Moon wherever you get your podcasts. #13MinutestotheMoon 
3m 53s
Jan 2023
Moonshot
It's episode 100, LET'S GO TO THE MOON! The 1969 Apollo 11 landing was iconic, but what happened to the earlier missions? What kind of impact did it have on pop culture and the Cold War? Why are there so many conspiracy theories? And most importantly - who was the first person to ... Show More
50m 1s
Jun 2019
Episode 1: Giant Leaps
What does a half-century of lunar science sound like? Join Moon data expert Ernie Wright on a musical time-traveling journey through the Apollo program and the exploration era of today. We explore what we knew about the Moon before Apollo, what we discovered because of it and the ... Show More
14m 45s
Dec 2019
Episode 7: Moondust
It’s 1969 and while the astronauts from Apollo 11 are landing on the moon, Prince Philip ponders what he might have accomplished had circumstances in his life been different. Host Edith Bowman is joined by actor Tobias Menzies and director Jessica Hobbs to discuss the character o ... Show More
41m 51s
Sep 2024
Apollo 13
On 13 April 1970, a Moon mission almost ended in tragedy, after an explosion on board the spaceship.Fred Haise was one of the Apollo 13 astronauts. In 2010, he spoke to Richard Howells about how they managed to get back to Earth against the odds.Eye-witness accounts brought to li ... Show More
10m 6s
Oct 2019
The Dark Side Of The Moon
50 years ago the world watched as man first landed on the moon, an incredible accomplishment by the engineers and scientists of NASA. But what if some of those same engineers and scientists had a secret history that the U.S. government tried to hide? This week, the story of how t ... Show More
39m 4s
Apr 2020
"Houston We’ve Had a Problem”
April 14, 1970. Apollo 13 is a quarter million miles from Earth, speeding towards the Moon, when a sudden explosion rocks the ship. Against all odds, the astronauts pull off one of the most remarkable survival missions in NASA history. On the 50th anniversary of this harrowing fl ... Show More
27m 3s
Apr 2025
"Houston We’ve Had a Problem” (feat. Captain Jim Lovell)
April 14, 1970. Apollo 13 is a quarter million miles from Earth, speeding towards the Moon, when a sudden explosion rocks the ship. Against all odds, the astronauts pull off one of the most remarkable survival missions in NASA history. 55 years after this harrowing flight, Apollo ... Show More
26m 48s
Feb 2024
Operation Lunar Eclipse
<p>When a teenage astronomy fan is gifted a piece of the moon by NASA, he’s inadvertently pulled into the seedy underground moonrock trade. But don’t worry. With help from H. Ross Perot, NASA secret agents are on the case.</p> <p>*</p> <p>Very Special Episodes is a new podcast wh ... Show More
46m 31s