Today, NASA is set to send four astronauts on a trip around the moon and back. If the mission succeeds, a return of astronauts to the moon’s surface could follow.
Kenneth Chang, who covers science, explains why the United States wants to go back to the moon. 
Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-chang" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kenneth Chang</a>, a science reporter at The New York Times who writes about NASA and the solar system.
Background reading: 
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/30/science/nasa-artemis-ii-moon-mission-what-to-know.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What to know</a> about NASA’s Artemis II moon mission.</li>
 <li>For a member of the crew, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/science/nasa-astronauts-artemis-moon-launch.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the journey to the moon is “starting to feel real.”</a></li>
</ul>
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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