NOVA "Return To The Moon" Chronicles Nasa's High-Stakes Artemis Program

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Category: Earth, Air, Space Science

Published on Wednesday, 08 April 2026 10:44

Written by A&E Contributing Editor

The award-winning PBS science series NOVA, a production of GBH, today announced the one-hour documentary special "RETURN TO THE MOON" will premiere April 15, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS (check local listings).

"RETURN TO THE MOON" will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App. The film follows NASA's Artemis missions to bring astronauts back to the Moon, including the latest footage from the Artemis II mission that is currently underway.

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More than half a century after American astronauts last walked on the Moon, NASA is taking the dream of Apollo a step further. In the years ahead, the Artemis missions—named for Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology—aim to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a lunar base for scientific and commercial exploration. RETURN TO THE MOON follows the four members of the Artemis II crew as they undertake a perilous 10-day journey around the Moon and back, venturing beyond Earth's orbit for the first time since Apollo and traveling farther into the Solar System than any humans before them. Viewers will get an inside look at the extensive preparations required to overcome the extreme engineering challenges of human spaceflight, as well as follow the Artemis II mission itself from launch to splashdown.

"NOVA has been covering space missions for more than fifty years, and yet we've never had the chance to follow a crewed mission to the Moon in real time," said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Julia Cort. "It's easy to forget what a tremendous challenge it is to send astronauts beyond Earth's orbit and bring them back again safely. We're excited to finally be able to give viewers an inside look at the problems the engineers have to solve and how the mission unfolds."   

"When humans first went to the Moon, NOVA didn't yet exist. But I did!" said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. "I vividly remember the incredible excitement felt by the whole world in sharing that human achievement, and if we can generate something akin to that awe and wonder in this film we will be tremendously gratified."

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RETURN TO THE MOON explores the design of the new rocket and the significant risks and safety challenges NASA faced in preparing Artemis II for launch. In November 2022, NASA successfully launched Artemis I, an uncrewed mission to the Moon and back and the first real test of the vehicle that will eventually carry humans. The flight served as a critical evaluation of the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket developed specifically for the Artemis program, and the Orion spacecraft.

The SLS is a multi-stage rocket—the most powerful NASA has ever built—designed to shed weight as each stage completes its role. Its gigantic core stage houses the main engines and fuel tanks, powered by the notoriously leaky liquid hydrogen and oxygen, while the majority of launch thrust is generated by two solid-fuel boosters. Hydrogen provides exceptional thrust efficiency but requires extensive storage space and must be kept at temperatures near –420 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent evaporation and expansion within the tank. The challenge of sustaining these extreme conditions led to fueling issues that twice delayed the Artemis I launch.

Atop the rocket sits the crew capsule, positioned above the service module that powers the craft once in space. Artemis I allowed mission controllers to test Orion's systems in deep space and evaluate its performance in lunar orbit. Equally critical was the test of the spacecraft's heat shield during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, when exterior temperatures approached 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the mission concluded successfully, post-flight analysis revealed problems: Sections of the heat shield's epoxy resin tiles, designed to vaporize and guide heat away from the capsule, broke away in larger-than-expected pieces.

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An extensive investigation pointed to the capsule's skip-entry maneuver – a double dip through Earth's atmosphere intended to slow the spacecraft gradually – which was used on Artemis I. Artemis II will instead employ a ballistic re-entry with a single, steeper trajectory, like a bullet fired from a gun. This re-entry will be the first test of how the capsule handles this maneuver, upping the stakes even higher, during one of the riskiest moments of the mission.  

As shown in RETURN TO THE MOON, Artemis II will be the first crewed test of the spacecraft's human systems, sending astronauts on a wide looping trajectory more than 4,000 miles beyond the Moon. The mission will pave the way for future flights, including Artemis IV, aimed at putting astronauts back on the lunar surface. Building on Apollo's legacy, Artemis pursues far more ambitious long-term goals – while operating with roughly one-tenth of NASA's 1960s budget. Rather than simply landing astronauts on the Moon for a few days at a time, Artemis's goal is to create a long-term Moon base, which could one day become a center of operations for further crewed voyages to Mars … and beyond.

"These are exciting times in human spaceflight," said the film's director, Tim Lambert. "Having been confined to Low Earth Orbit for half a century, NASA is dreaming big again – working with commercial partners to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. Artemis II is the first step on the journey and it is a privilege to have witnessed this mission come into being."

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RETURN TO THE MOON premieres Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS (check local listings). The episode will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel, and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

RETURN TO THE MOON is a NOVA Production by Wall to Wall Media for GBH and BBC in association with Arte France. Executive Producer for Wall to Wall Media is Jeremy Dear. Director is Tim Lambert. Editor is Kevin Austin. Edit Producer is Helen Williamson. Production Executive is Anne-Marie Byrne. Senior Producer for NOVA is Caitlin Saks. Commissioning Editor for ARTE is Hélène Ganichaud. Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Tom Coveney. Executive Producers for NOVA are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt. NOVA is a production of GBH.

Major funding for RETURN TO THE MOON is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the NOVA Science Trust with support from the Hoveida Family Foundation and Howard and Eleanor Morgan, and by the George D. Smith Fund, Inc.

Funding for NOVA and this program is provided by Carlisle Companies and PBS viewers.

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