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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US HOLLYWOOD MOON BASE
HEADLINE: Moon Base Moves from Hollywood Screen to Near Reality
TEASER: NASA close to making Hollywood’s sci-fi vision a reality through Artemis program and accords, working toward a future moon base.
PUBLISHED AT: 12/26/23, 8:41a
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mike O’Sullivan
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, NASA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 3:11
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRODUCTION)) [[A future moon base is central to the vision of the U.S. space Agency NASA, which hopes to return humans to the moon within two years. It’s part of an international program called Artemis, which is guided by an agreement called the Artemis Accords. Mike O’Sullivan reports, it’s a future that Hollywood has envisioned.]]
((MANDATORY CREDIT: Project Moon Base, Galaxy Pictures))
Living on the moon, as imagined in the 1953 film Project Moon Base, in a future in space of discovery and excitement...
((MANDATORY CREDIT: Crater, Disney))
or just plain fun, like these youngsters playing baseball on the moon in a scene from the recent Disney film Crater.
((NARRATOR))
Lunar life may soon be real, thanks to the Artemis program, which launched the un-crewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon in November 2022.
((Courtesy: NASA))
Artemis will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-by next November with Artemis 2,
((Courtesy: NASA))
and is slated to return humans to the moon with Artemis 3, no earlier than 2025.
Artemis will also create a space station in lunar orbit called Gateway, an outpost for future missions to the moon and a staging point for future deep space exploration. Two major modules should be in place by late 2025.
((Courtesy: NASA))
The project adheres to the Artemis Accords, a non-binding agreement between the United States and, as of December 2023, 32 other countries. The accords call for peaceful exploration, mutual assistance and sharing scientific data from space.
((FOR RADIO: Neal Newman is a deputy director in NASA’s international office.))
((Neal Newman, NASA Office of International and Interagency Relations)) ((Teams, no courtesy needed))
“India signed this year. We have very small countries, Luxembourg, for example, Singapore. And we’ve got African countries. Angola is the most recent signatory, Rwanda.”
((Mandatory courtesy: NASA))
((NARRATOR))
Other signatories include Japan, Canada and 13 European nations — but not Russia or China. A Russian official called the NASA-led agreement “too U.S.-centric.” The two countries plan to build their own joint lunar research station.
Artemis relies on commercial partners, an important precedent, says the head of a company that built the fuel tank for an upcoming support mission.
James Wertz of Microcosm says the private sector is crucial to the moon’s future.
((James Wertz, Microcosm President))
“Because you want to be able, for example, to have tourists. All right, tourists will have to be in a hotel. Well, I’ve got to build a hotel. Now, can I do all of this, does all of this make sense? And the answer is, I do believe it does.”
((Courtesy: NASA)
((NARRATOR))
He says we have the technology and that lunar resources include frozen water and helium-3, which scientists say could fast-track energy production when practical fusion reactors are developed.
((Mandatory Courtesy: NASA))
Analysts say NASA works well with private partners.
[[FOR RADIO: Mariel Borowitz teaches international affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology]]
((Mariel Borowitz, Georgia Institute of Technology)) ((Skype))
“The U.S. in particular has been pretty supportive of encouraging companies and other countries to use resources on the moon, develop the capability to do that. Part of the idea is that that helps make space travel more sustainable, helps to develop these new technologies, move those things forward.”
((MANDATORY CREDIT: Crater, Disney/IMDB))
((NARRATOR))
Do the movies get it right?
(( CREDIT: NASA))
((NARRATOR))
A permanent base or bases won’t be built until at least the 2030s,
((CREDIT: NASA))
but scientists say some Hollywood images may become reality, as the Artemis program puts the pieces in place for a human return to the moon, and beyond.
(( Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles ))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
