13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

54 episodes

Artemis II: 13. Splashdown
11/04/2026 | 35 mins.
After 9 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes and 15 seconds and 1.1 million kilometres of travel, the Orion “Integrity” probe splashed down successfully on April 11th at 00:07:32 UTC (GMT).
Tim Peake, Maggie Aderin, Kristin Fisher, Rebecca Morelle and the 13 Minutes podcast touches down with this episode. We are also joined by Nasa legend and former shuttle astronaut, Dr Anna Fisher to reflect on the mission.
13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II will return.
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
Commissioning team: Jon Manel, Anne Dixey and Katy Davis
Artemis II: 12. Please return to your seats
10/04/2026 | 40 mins.
The Artemis II mission hurtles towards re-entry and splashdown. The 13 Minutes crew run through the schedule that includes 28,864 mph, searing heat, 11 parachutes, and 3.9g forces.
Long-time Nasa scientist Dr Phil Metzger talks about the issue of AVCOAT – the ablative coating that will shield the capsule’s flat underside. And we also talk about his work at Nasa’s “Swamp Works” where much was studied about building structures on the moon for a moonbase.
Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.
You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing [email protected].
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
Artemis II: 11. Science surprises
09/04/2026 | 42 mins.
The Artemis II crew are getting ever closer to home and preparing for re-entry.
Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher, who shares the latest updates from the mission. Plus, we answer more of your burning questions.
And Dr Kelsey Young, lead science officer and lunar science lead for Artemis II, shares her excitement about the crew’s lunar observations so far. She tells us what she’s been surprised by, what new science we’ve already learnt, and how they trained the astronauts to become geologists.
You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing [email protected].
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
Artemis II: 10. How to train your astronaut
08/04/2026 | 29 mins.
After all the excitement of the lunar fly-by, the Artemis II crew are taking a breather, and have a long-distance call with the astronauts on board the International Space Station.
Besides the Artemis II and ISS crews, there are other humans up in space too. China’s Tiangong space station is currently home to three taikonauts. Hosts astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher to discuss China’s progress in their lunar program so far.
And Artemis II chief training officer Jacki Mahaffey tells Tim, Maggie and Kristin how the crew were trained to expect the unexpected, how astronaut preparation has changed since the Apollo days, and how she feels about the upcoming splashdown.
You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing [email protected].
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
Artemis II: 9. Bye bye, fly-by
07/04/2026 | 44 mins.
It’s been a busy 24 hours for the Artemis II crew. They have completed a lunar fly-by, surpassed the furthest distance humans have ever travelled from planet Earth, gone through a communications black out period, and witnessed a lunar eclipse.
Host space scientist Maggie Aderin is joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher who, like many of us, stayed up to watch the fly-by. And BBC News science editor Rebecca Morelle calls in from Houston to give us the latest from mission control. The first pictures back were published by Nasa just as this episode began recording.
And former BBC space correspondent Jonathan Amos joins the “13 minutes community”, giving his perspective on the historic mission and the events of the last 24 hrs.
Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.
You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing [email protected].
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

About 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

Artemis and the return to the Moon. The BBC’s space podcast is following Artemis II, with an episode every day during the mission. Nasa is returning to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. The Artemis II mission is sending astronauts – on a spacecraft called Orion - to loop around the Moon and to go further from Earth than any human in history. The story of Artemis II is being told by space scientist, Maggie Aderin, and British astronaut, Tim Peake. They are joined by expert contributors, US space journalist Kristin Fisher and the BBC News Science Editor, Rebecca Morelle. Orion’s crew is Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. The last crewed mission to The Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972.13 Minutes is the BBC’s space podcast, telling epic space stories. It’s produced by the BBC Audio Science Unit for the BBC World Service. Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.Previous seasons:Season 1: 13 Minutes to the Moon. The first Moon landing. In the final dramatic 13-minute descent to the Moon, the Apollo 11 mission came close to going badly wrong. Communication was breaking down, technology was failing and fuel was running out. This is the story of how the first Moon landing was saved. Presented by Kevin Fong.Season 2: Apollo 13. Apollo 13 should have been the third Moon landing, but after an explosion, it almost ended in tragedy. Told by the people who flew it and saved it. Presented and co-written by Kevin Fong.Season 3: The Space Shuttle. A sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever. From the boldest test flight in history to one of Nasa’s darkest days – the Challenger disaster. Space scientist Maggie Aderin tells the awe-inspiring story of the programme that brought triumph and tragedy. Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.

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