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BBC World Service

The BBC’s space podcast. Season 4: Artemis II. We told the story of Nasa’s mission to loop around the Moon. UPDATE: New season coming soon, about the Hubble Space Telescope. Season 5 launches on 5 October 2026.

Artemis and the return to the Moon. The BBC’s space podcast followed the Artemis II mission every day for two weeks. Nasa returned to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. The mission sent four astronauts – on a spacecraft called Orion - to loop around the Moon. They went further from Earth than any human in history. The story of Artemis II is told by space scientist Maggie Aderin, British astronaut Tim Peake, and US space journalist Kristin Fisher. 

The last crewed mission to The Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972. Orion’s crew was Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. 

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. 

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

13 Minutes to the Moon

Some big news: We’ve been making a new season. It’s about Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope. If you haven’t already, follow or subscribe, so you will get the full trailer automatically. That will be published next week.

Maggie Aderin will tell the story of how the telescope that transformed our understanding of the universe, almost ended in disaster.

13 Minutes: Trouble with Hubble launches on 5 October 2026.

In the meantime, please keep sending us your questions: 13minutes@bbc.co.uk

We’ll be back to answer those in a few months – more details to follow. 

You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

13 Minutes is the BBC World Service’s space podcast.

Artemis II: Quick update: New season coming soon

The team are back together. Astronaut Tim Peake and space scientist Maggie Aderin are joined by space journalist Kristin Fisher and Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen, after his historic journey. 
Jeremy reflects on the mission, adapting to life back on Earth after journeying to the far side of the Moon, and looks ahead to future Artemis missions. 
The Canadian astronaut, who first spoke to 13 Minutes from quarantine before launch, answers the burning questions from the team. He describes the moment a hull breach alarm sounded 20 minutes before the Trans Lunar Injection was due to fire.
Then we get to the big one – what’s next for the Artemis programme? 
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: 14. The learnings

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...

But before then, watch Maggie and Tim in BBC Horizon ‘s “Artemis: To the Moon and Back", to see and learn more about the years leading up to this mission.

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: 13. Splashdown

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 13minutes@bbc.co.uk. 

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: 12. Please return to your seats

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 13minutes@bbc.co.uk. 

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: 11. Science surprises

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 13minutes@bbc.co.uk. 

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

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 13minutes@bbc.co.uk. 

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

Now thoroughly within the lunar gravitational sphere of influence, Artemis II’s crew perform final preparations for the flyby and nearest approach. Very shortly they will break the human distance record from earth.

But listeners ask, why will they go further than Apollo 13 went?

They will shortly be the only people to see a unique solar eclipse, survey parts of the lunar far side never gazed upon with human eyes, and enter a communication blackout for around 45 minutes, with only themselves for company.

Astronaut psychology is one of the most important areas of space science. Before working on Nasa's Twins study, Dr Mathias Basner developed a test for astronauts’ cognition testing. Why? Because astronauts are such over-performers that ordinary tests that the rest of us would be subjected to barely register. So… how did Tim score when he had to do them?

But tonight, all eyes are on the moon.

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 13minutes@bbc.co.uk.

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: 8. Final approach

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 satellites around the moon to prevent the forthcoming communications blackout?

Tim Peake, Kristin Fisher and Maggie Aderin discuss the impact on mission architecture that the plurality of commercial launch providers are having in this new space race. 

The Artemis II crew have also been sending down more of their photographs of Earth and the growing Moon from Integrity, the Orion spacecraft. With more and more talk on the mission becoming camera related, photographic restoration specialist and bestseller “Apollo Remastered” author Andy Saunders joins Tim, Maggie and Kristin to discuss what we can learn from these pictures and how photography has changed since Nasa’s early space programs. 

You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing 13minutes@bbc.co.uk. 

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: 7. A family photo

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 gentle deceleration before the point when the moon’s gravity starts pulling it more strongly than the earth’s.

And the team answer a question from listener Mark. Has Artemis II had to dodge space junk on its way to the Moon, and if so, how is it detected and avoided?

And planetary scientist Professor Sara Russell joins Tim, Maggie and Kristin to explain how the Moon got its water, what resources are drawing private companies to the Moon, and what a future lunar base would have to look like to withstand the Moon’s conditions.

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

13 Minutes Presents Artemis Two 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: 6. Halfway there

Nasa’s third mission to land astronauts on the Moon almost ends in tragedy. Apollo 13 is doomed from the start - it will never touch down on the lunar surface. Even before launch, a last-minute crew change and superstitions about the number 13 cast a shadow over the spaceflight. When an explosion triggers a catastrophic cascade of events, the space crew’s lives hang in the balance.

Hosted by Kevin Fong.

Archive:
Nasa and CBS
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project

Starring:
Jim Lovell
Marilyn Lovell
Fred Haise
John Aaron
Gerry Griffin
Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
Charlie Duke
Jay Lovell
Sy Liebergot
Jack Lousma 

Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Produced by the BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service.
This episode was updated on 16 March 2020.

Apollo 13: 1. Time bomb

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