NOTE: On the eve of NASA's scheduled launch of Artemis II, this is a republish of a Shortcut we did back in February. Second time's the charm...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (more commonly known as NASA) is on the brink of launching its first crewed mission to the moon in 50 years. It’s a momentous occasion, but it’s not without a lot of questions. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at why the mission is happening now, why it’s been such a long time between drinks, and why some people have raised concerns about the mission’s safety.

Squiz Recommends: 

Watching: ⁠Apollo 13⁠ starring Tom Hanks dramatises what happened on that mission. It takes some liberties to keep the story rolling but it’s considered by space buffs to be one of the most historically and technically accurate movies ever made.

Reading: ⁠NASA’s Artemis page⁠ pretty much answers any questions you can think of about all of the Artemis missions planned…

Reading: This ⁠BBC story⁠ has a stack of cool facts about the moon, like what it’s made of (they compare it to “a chocolate-covered cherry” in terms of its layers)... And here’s ⁠the CNN article⁠ we mentioned about the heat shield issues with Artemis 1… 

SPONSORED - Head to airbnb.com.au/staysafe. It's packed with easy-to-follow safety advice from the experts at Surf Life Saving Australia and more.

Got a suggestion for a Squiz Shortcut topic? We'd love to hear it - email us at [email protected]

⁠Squiz Shortcuts⁠ is your back story to the big news stories… Want the email version? Sign up for the free Shortcuts newsletter here.