The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission have safely returned to Earth, but if your Moon fever has yet to break, or you’re curious to get a big picture view of how the second of a planned five Moon missions was pulled off, PBS has a new documentary you’ll want to watch. The hour-long Return to the Moon was produced for PBS’ NOVA and aired on TV on April 15, but you can view the episode in its entirety on YouTube right now.
Return to the Moon covers the history of NASA’s Artemis program, and specifically the planning and preparation that went into Artemis II. Per the documentary’s official description:
Follow the four members of the Artemis II crew as they embark on a perilous 10-day journey to orbit the Moon, venturing beyond Earth orbit for the first time since Apollo and farther into the Solar System than any humans have gone before. And get an inside look at the preparations needed to overcome the extreme engineering challenges of human-crewed spaceflight, all the way from launch to splashdown.
The last Apollo mission was in 1972, so Artemis II getting a group of four astronauts anywhere near the Moon has naturally generated a lot of excitement. The crew flew further away from Earth than anyone has gone so far, captured some stunning photos of both the Moon and our home planet and managed to make everyone feel better about their dislike of Microsoft Outlook. Few Moon missions have been as well-documented or relatable.
