Are We There Yet?

NASA needs new space suits. The agency wants to put people back on the moon in the 2020s, and to do it safely, it needs brand new spacesuits for use on the lunar surface. NASA is working with two private companies to design, develop and build the new suits -- at a price of up to $3.5 billion.

But making a new lunar spacesuit isn’t easy. We’ll talk with space policy analyst Laura Forczyk about the challenges ahead for new moon suits.

Then, spacesuits have been around since the first human space missions in the 1960s. We’ll speak with Smithsonian’s Cathleen Lewis about the history of the spacesuits.

Dressed for space. That’s ahead on Are We There Yet?.

NASA needs new space suits. The agency wants to put people back on the moon in the 2020s, and to do it safely, it needs brand new space suits for use on the lunar surface. NASA is working with two private companies to design, develop and build the new suits -- at a price of up to $3.5 billion.

NASA needs new space suits. The agency wants to put people back on the moon in the 2020s, and to do it safely, it needs brand new space suits for use on the lunar surface. NASA is working with two private companies to design, develop and build the new suits -- at a price of up to $3.5 billion.

From MegaCon Orlando -- the science of NASA’s next moon missions.

From MegaCon Orlando -- the science of NASA’s next moon missions.

What’s it like plummeting from space and landing…alive? We'll talk with Inspiration4 astronaut Chris Sembroski about the power of parachutes and how the technology helped get him back on the planet.

What’s it like plummeting from space and landing…alive? We'll talk with Inspiration4 astronaut Chris Sembroski about the power of parachutes and how the technology helped get him back on the planet.

Boeing’s Starliner is set for yet another test mission, a critical step before NASA lets its astronauts fly to space in it. An attempt to launch the capsule designed for NASA’s commercial crew program back in 2019 left the ground -- but failed to reach the space station.

An attempt at a new mission earlier this year was delayed due to faulty valves on the vehicle used to steer it in space. As Boeing works to work out the kinks, NASA’s other partner SpaceX is sending astronauts regularly to the station.

So what’s at stake for Boeing? And why is having two providers so important for NASA? We’ll talk with space policy analyst Laura Forczyk about the pressure Boeing’s Starliner faces.

Then, Frank Boreman commanded the first crewed mission around the moon in 1968 -- an incredibly risky but critical mission that got the first astronauts to the moon.

Boreman and Apollo 8 succeeded, but the mission took a tremendous toll on his wife, Susan. A new book “Far Side of the Moon: Apollo 8 Commander Frank Boreman and the Woman Who Gave Him Wings” examines the role astronauts’ wives played in the space race -- and the enormous price they paid. We’ll talk with author Liisa Jorgensen about her book.

Boeing’s Starliner is set for yet another test mission, a critical step before NASA lets its astronauts fly to space in it. So what’s at stake for Boeing? And why is having two providers so important for NASA?

Boeing’s Starliner is set for yet another test mission, a critical step before NASA lets its astronauts fly to space in it. So what’s at stake for Boeing? And why is having two providers so important for NASA?