(music throughout ) More
than 50 years ago, NASA's Apollo program sent humans
to the moon with less computing power than is in your mobile phone.
Since then, technology has transformed space exploration.
We've landed rovers on Mars and sent robotic explorers
to the outer reaches of our solar system.
Now we're ready to send humans into space again.
Starting at the place we know best.
The Moon, where we're going to stay and learn as much as possible
as we forge a human path deeper into space than ever before.
Artemus is NASA's program to return humans to the moon for long term exploration.
It is named after the Greek goddess who is Apollo's twin sister.
The Artemis mission will take us to
the Moon's South Pole, a region that's rich in natural resources
and geologic features that will help us answer fundamental questions
about the history of our Moon, Earth and Solar System.
On this season of NASA Explorers, you'll meet the scientists,
engineers, technicians and astronauts of Artemis.
These are the people who are designing science investigations,
analyzing grains of moon dust in the lab, building tools for lunar exploration
and training to conduct science on the surface
of the moon.
Yes. So my job title is now astronaut.
NASA astronaut.
What first interested me and the first time I kind of said
that I wanted to be an astronaut.
I was around nine years old.
I was doing an after school curricular program at Judy Resnik Elementary School.
And I think I asked my parents about who she was and what her career path was.
And I think that was the first time that it was explained to me that, hey,
you know, you you could go to space and hang out there as a as a career option.
So I think that was kind of the first time I said, that sounds awesome.
That's really what I'd like to do.
I had done some kind of, you know, summer program type of classes.
One thing that sticks out in my head was dissecting a cow eye.
And I came home and was just raving about how cool that was.
And it's so fun.
And I think my parents looked at me kind of funny, but I think that was,
you know, kind of the beginning of my my interest in love in science and,
you know, really wanting to dive into research and asking questions.
Before becoming an astronaut, Dr.
Jessica Watkins worked as a planetary geologist,
as a member of the science team behind NASA's Curiosity rover.
Her work focused on Mars.
Now, Jessica is working aboard the International Space Station
and is one of the Artemis astronauts and rare human beings
who may get to leave their footprints on the moon.
In that moment, there is a whole team of hundreds of people that have contributed,
probably thousands of people that have contributed to that reality.
And, you know, the kind of the last piece of it
is, you know, the human in the loop that's actually executing it.
But in reality, it will just be about representing that the rest of that team
well and doing your job, your one piece of that puzzle well.
Dr. Julie Mitchell represents
another piece of the Artemis puzzle sample processing and storage.
When Artemus astronauts deliver the next set of moon samples to earth,
they'll need to be stored in a specifically designed facility
and preserved for current and future generations.
My main title is the curator of Ices and Organics.
All that means is that I'm helping NASA get ready to bring ice samples back
from the solar system.
So I work in what's called the Astro Materials Acquisition and Curation Office.
We just call it the curation Office for short.
So all of the Apollo moon, rocks, meteorites, all of our sample return
missions from asteroids, from comets, all of those samples come here to Houston
and it's our office job to take care of those samples
and make sure that they're available to the scientific community to study.
So I grew up in Louisiana on the bayou.
You know, I was down at the water all the time looking for snakes and turtles
and looking at different plants that were out there.
Nighttime would come around.
And, you know, I was just looking at the stars.
I wanted to know the constellations.
I wanted to understand what was going on up there.
And neither of my parents went to college.
None of my siblings or I had any expectation
of going to college either.
My older sister, she actually ended up going to college eventually got her Ph.D.
She just gave me a hard time and just kind of
was very persistent with me and saying, look, just apply to one school.
Luckily, I got in and when I got in that was kind of the switch
that flipped like, Oh, okay, I can't actually do this,
and I want as many people as possible to know
that there are people who are working at NASA who,
you know, didn't grow up with a lot of resources
and have still found a way to to make a contribution.
Okay.
So how does a kid that come from the rough part of Lima
get interested into science?
Of course, I was very curious and I was very motivated for science.
I don't think I would have gotten into science
if it wasn't because of a kind of need I had for achieving something great.
Dr. Jose Aponte works in the Astrobiology
Analytical Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
He studies grains of dust from meteorites, asteroids
and the moon, hunting for microscopic clues to help answer
a gigantic question - Where did the seeds of life come from?
Jose could be among the first humans to study samples from the moon's South Pole.
I read an advertisement that read We are
looking for an astrobiologist to study organic compounds in meteorites.
Astrobiologist?
What's that like?
I never heard that word before.
I had no clue, honestly.
So I've read about it and said, Wow, this is pretty cool.
Organic compounds in meteorites.
Meteorites.
Okay, that sounds exciting.
But when I was a kid, I was probably ten years old,
and every day I had to do the dishes at home.
And there was this pot and this pot had a really thick,
black layer of burnt rice.
Something came to mind and I said, okay, if I want to clean this pot,
I'm going to add bleach.
Because bleach, you know, dissolved stuff, stains and should help.
So I had a couple of cups of bleach.
Look at it.
Nothing happened, of course.
So I said, okay.
Nothing happened. Such a disappointment.
I decided to add a cup of muriatic acid that is used to clean toilets.
And then you know what happens, you know?
Right. Okay.
So when you mix bleach and muriatic acid, chlorine gas is released.
But in in great quantities, a lot of it really fast.
Really quick.
And so I add the muriatic acid and I see a lot of fumes coming out.
So I left the pot there and ran upstairs.
And then my grandparents,
we got to leave the house because we're going to die if we don't.
When we came back, the pot was all destroyed.
I was like, What happened? That was great.
That was crazy.
I don't know what it was, but that was cool.
That's the first time I think that I was a chemist,
although I didn't know that I was a chemist at that time.
I definitely am a person that doesn't give up.
I don't take no for an answer.
And as soon as I got to school, really, I guess the summer after my freshman
year, I was applying for anything space related.
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful many times
I've counted it up in the number that that I remember from that exercise
was about 30 to 35 different applications
over a few year period of just nothing.
And then the second semester of my junior year of college,
I was accepted to a NASA internship.
And so, sure enough, that broke the barrier for me.
I got an internship that led to another internship.
Now I'm here and get to live out my dream.
I wear a lot of different hats here at NASA, but my primary role
right now is as the deputy project manager for the Artemis Geology Tools.
That means that along with our project manager, I help to lead
a team of people who are building Moon tools.
And so specifically the tools that are going to take samples of the moon
and bring them back to earth so the scientists can study them for
generations to come.
I watched the Apollo videos many times
and I see the video of the world reacting to that accomplishment.
And I just feel so much pride and knowing that I get to be a part of it
this time around is just it's so much fun.
It makes every day just seem like a dream Together,
Jessica, Julie, Jose, and Adam
are pieces of the Artemis puzzle.
Each is a vital component of the team working to accomplish
the monumental task of exploring a world beyond earth.
You can't just do this
with a geologist or you couldn't just do this with an engineer.
You really need a mix of people to think about these challenges
from all the different angles.
And we have that team.
These are our explorers, the people who will get us to the moon,
collect moon rocks, deliver them to Earth safely,
and ensure that we can study them for years to come.
By the time we get to the moon.
We're going to have the best tools.
We're going to have the best containers.
We're going to have the best crew.
And that's because everybody involved really, really cares.
And all of that is going to lead us to the very best science we can do.
Everybody's hard work ahead of time
will make sure that we have these excellent samples
and that they're preserved for the long term.
Virtually everyone on Earth knows the first words uttered from the
surface of the moon.
That's one
small step for man, one
giant leap for mankind.
But not many people know that the next words were all about science.
The surface is fine and powdery.
I can I can pick it up loosely with my toe.
It does adhere in fine layers
like powdered charcoal.
on the next episode of NASA's Explorers.
Moon Rocks.
What mysteries about the origins of our Earth, Moon and Solar System?
Can we unlock from a rock?