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Episode details

World Service,17 Mar 2026,2 mins

Series Artemis II

Update: Aiming for April

13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

Available for over a year

Artemis II is “on track” to launch in April. And so are we – with our brand-new season of 13 Minutes, which will start a couple of days before lift off. Astronaut Tim Peake is co-presenting 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II and has the latest news. The mission had been set to begin in early March, but a helium leak was discovered. Nasa says it's confident the problem has been fixed. Now, the earliest possible launch date is 1 April. The mission is set to see astronauts flying around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Tim spent 186 days at the International Space Station, so what’s it like to be an astronaut waiting for lift off? What final preparations are made? And what determines the launch date? 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II will take off two days before the launch. Tim will be joined by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock and US space journalist Kristin Fisher to bring you a space story in real time. Every day of the mission, the team will have the latest news, key details about the rocket and the crew, and they’ll hear from the people who’re making it all happen. Join us later this month as we travel together towards the far side of the Moon. Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

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