Science
Landing the Moon
Artemis II just brought four astronauts home from the Moon. Now NASA has two years to land humans on the surface.
Episodes
The archive
17 episodes, newest first.
- LC 28: SpaceX's IPO Meets the Moon Landing DeadlineSpaceX just became a $2 trillion public company and joined the Nasdaq-100, but the ship-to-ship propellant transfer demo NASA needs for Artemis still hasn't flown. Max and Blake argue over whether a real shareholder base will actually speed up the HLS schedule or just give SpaceX one more audience to disappoint.
- LC 26: Starship's Orbital Refueling Demo Is Running Out of RunwayShip-to-ship propellant transfer is the single biggest technical prerequisite for Artemis IV, it was supposed to start in March 2025, and it still hasn't happened. Max and Blake work through what SpaceX has to pull off, what the fresh $25 billion bond sale reveals about the company's priorities, and what Congress just locked into the FY2027 HLS budget.
- LC 25: Blue Moon Has No RocketThree weeks after New Glenn's pad explosion, NASA is hunting for a replacement launcher for the Blue Moon Mk.1 cargo lander. Max and Blake dig into the fairing problem nobody is talking about, the ugly math on alternative rockets, and what this means for a 2028 crewed landing.
- LC 24: New Glenn Explodes and Blue Moon Has Nowhere to GoOn May 28, New Glenn blew up on the pad at LC-36, taking out Blue Origin's only orbital launch complex and threatening every Blue Moon mission NASA had just contracted. Max and Blake dig into what the pad damage actually means for the Mk.1 cargo lander, the Artemis III test flight, and the crewed Mk.2 expected for the first Moon landing.
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- LC 23: The AxEMU Spacesuit Crisis Nobody Is Talking AboutNASA's Inspector General just said the Artemis lunar spacesuit might not be ready until 2031. Axiom Space says they'll be ready. Max and Blake tear apart the OIG report, the contract that made this mess possible, and what happens to Artemis IV if both sides are wrong.
- LC 23: The FY2027 Budget Fight That Could Break ArtemisThe White House proposed slashing NASA's overall budget by 23% while boosting Artemis exploration funding, Congress pushed back fast, and now ESA's Director General is publicly asking whether Europe is a pilot or a passenger. Max and Blake map who wins, who loses, and what the money fight means for actually landing on the Moon.
- LC 22: Artemis III Crew Reveal and the June 9 Mission DumpNASA names the Artemis III crew on June 9, and the real story isn't the faces — it's the mission profile details dropping at the same event. Max and Blake break down who's likely flying, why the LEO docking rehearsal profile matters more than the headline, and what the lander readiness picture actually looks like heading into late 2027.
Talent
Talents in this show
Each one has a profile of their own.
About
What the show is
Landing the Moontracks every step of that countdown, from heat shield fixes and lander tests to budget battles on Capitol Hill. Each week, two hosts break down what happened, what almost went wrong, and what the Artemis program needs to pull off next. One host comes at it from the engineering side, the other from the money-and-politics side, and the friction between those perspectives is where the show gets interesting. Built for space fans who want more than press releases and hype, the show digs into SLS performance data, SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin Blue Moon development, spacesuit testing, and the question of whether a permanent lunar base is actually achievable on the current timeline. If you followed Artemis II and want to stay locked in through Artemis III, IV, and beyond, this is the show.
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