Return to the Moon
From Apollo to Artemis: how people first reached the Moon, why going back is hard, and what comes next.
Grades 4-9About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops9 stops
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What students will see and do
Students review Apollo and Apollo 13, learn why the Moon is harder to reach than the space station, meet the Artemis rocket and capsule, follow the 2026 Artemis II crew around the Moon, and explore the Moon's south pole, its dangers, and future missions.
Learning objectives
- Describe the Apollo program and what it achieved
- Explain why a Moon mission is much harder than a trip to the space station
- Describe the Artemis II mission and its crew
- Explain why water ice at the lunar south pole matters for future exploration
NGSS connections
| MS-ETS1-1 | Moon missions are engineering problems with criteria and constraints (mass, safety, cost, radiation). |
|---|---|
| MS-ETS1-2 | Comparing design solutions: Apollo, Orion and commercial landers. |
| MS-ESS1-2 | Gravity and orbits shape the path to and around the Moon. |
| MS-ESS3-1 (extension) | Resources such as lunar water ice are unevenly distributed and shape where people explore. |
Stops on this journey
- Apollo: the first time
- Why the Moon is harder (discussion stop)
- Artemis: rockets and spacecraft
- Apollo 13: the record and the rescue
- Living on the Moon
- Artemis II: around the Moon (discussion stop)
- The south pole and its ice
- Dangers of deep space
- What comes next
Vocabulary
- Apollo
- Artemis
- Orion
- Space Launch System
- lunar module
- splashdown
- south pole
- water ice