Artemis Program's Next Steps: Moon Base & Mars Trips

0:00At the Sun and Fun Air Show in Lakeland, planes took a back seat to big space news. A top NASA figure laid out the Artemis program's next steps for the crowd. Artemis II just wrapped a historic 10-day loop around the moon, pushing humans farther into space than ever before. Coming up, Artemis III hits in 2027 with tests in Earth's orbit. That same year, they'll start building a moon base and send robots to the lunar South Pole for deep science work and experiments. Rocks are buzzing about teaming up with companies and schools worldwide. University students will build gear for moon missions, chasing breakthroughs in science and even a lunar economy. All this sets the stage for eventual trips to Mars. An 11-year-old kid who win viral as the freaking moon boy got a shout-out on stage. He hopes the program fires up the next generation to join NASA and build rockets. They unveiled NASA's Supergubby plane for the first time there, a beast that's hauled parts from Apollo days to Artemis heat shields.

1:01More wild aircraft are coming next year as the event wraps April 19th with daily shows still rolling. That's your update from Tampa Bay News today, powered by AI.