Artemis II Moon Mission and Beetlejuice Wake: Lunar Return, Exoplanet Clues, and an Antarctic Ice Memory Sanctuary

Inside Science examines Artemis II, explaining why a new crewed loop around the Moon is planned and how it compares with Apollo-era milestones, including the upcoming Artemis III landing. The program then covers Beetlejuice, where a possible companion star may orbit inside the red giant’s atmosphere, leaving a detectable wake in spectral signals. It also showcases the Ice Memory Sanctuary project, aimed at preserving Mont Blanc ice cores in Antarctica as climate archives for future research. Penny Sache of New Scientist rounds up recent science news, from jellyfish sleep to the ethics and behavior of AI systems.

Artemis II: Moon Mission Rehearsal

The episode explains Artemis II as a rehearsal for crewed deep-space exploration, orbiting the Moon at a higher altitude than Apollo 8 and returning to Earth. It outlines four key motivations for returning to the Moon: unfinished lunar science and the preservation of ancient Earth rocks on the Moon, strategic testing of long-duration crewed missions, a geopolitical push to establish leadership in space, and the inspirational effect that Apollo-era momentum still casts on science and technology today.

"it's a rehearsal, like Apollo 8 was" - Jonathan Amos, former BBC science correspondent

Lunar Economy and Future Plans

The discussion touches on the potential lunar economy, with commercial companies taking on heavy lifting and a UK mission to provide data relay services from lunar orbit, enabling rovers on the surface to communicate with Earth. Artemis II is framed as a necessary step before Artemis III, which would land astronauts on the Moon once a reliable lander system is in place, with a target around 2028 that has moved over time.

Beetlejuice: A Binary Wake in a Giant Atmosphere

Roland Pease reports on the idea that Beetlejuice may host a sun-like star in a very tight orbit, creating a wake as it moves through the primary star’s extended atmosphere. The wake is inferred from shifts in spectral lines, with observations spanning years and using both optical and ultraviolet data to trace the companion’s influence on the primary’s atmosphere and wind dynamics.

"the wake behind a boat" - Roland Pease

Ice Memory Sanctuary: Climate Archives in Antarctica

Liz Thomas explains the Ice Memory Sanctuary, a project to store ice cores from Mont Blanc and other sites in Antarctica as long-term climate archives. The aim is to preserve these records for future analytical advances, including continuous-flow analysis that can extract dozens of chemical and isotopic data sets from a single ice sample, ensuring that past climate signals are recoverable even as glaciers melt.

"ice cores are time machines" - Liz Thomas

Latest Science News

Penny Sache from New Scientist rounds up the latest science stories, including waking jellyfish that sleep about a third of the time and the emergence of discussions around AI ethics and behavior, where researchers argue for applying animal-behavior science to understand artificial intelligence systems better.

"they spend about 1/3 of their time asleep" - Penny Sache