Former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says the successful splashdown of the Orion spacecraft marks a critical step toward returning humans to the moon — and eventually reaching Mars — as the United States faces a renewed space race with China.
“It’s the first time in a half a century that we’ve gone back to the moon,” Nelson said. “We go back to the moon to set up — to learn how to live, to exist, to create, to invent — in order to go further, to go to Mars and then further.”
Nelson outlined the Artemis mission sequence, explaining that each step is designed to verify critical systems before adding more risk. Artemis I flew uncrewed to test the rocket, Artemis II placed a crew aboard to check life support systems, and future missions will practice docking maneuvers before ultimately landing two astronauts on the lunar surface for six days.
“When you fly in space, it’s highly dangerous,” he said. “You have to make sure that you’ve done everything you can possibly do.”
Nelson praised the diversity of the Artemis II crew, noting it includes the first international astronaut to travel to the moon, and highlighted an emotional moment when the crew named a crater for commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife. He also warned of a growing competition with China, whose military space program has pledged to land astronauts — called Taikonauts — on the moon by 2030.
“So in a way, we have a race, a space race again — this time not with the Soviets, this time with the Chinese,” Nelson said.
He connected the Artemis program to the technological legacy of Apollo, pointing to everyday innovations like cell phone cameras, MRIs and CAT scans as direct spinoffs of the space program. While welcoming a recent presidential proposal to add $1 billion to NASA’s budget, Nelson cautioned against cuts to Earth science programs.
“I think that’s great,” he said. “But at the same time, what they’re doing is cutting the science. They’re cutting the Earth science. You go to space and what you learned is you learned about the Earth — and just how fragile it is.”
Nelson also noted Florida’s Space Coast has surged back to life since the shuttle program ended in 2011, projecting around 140 launches this year compared to roughly 10 to 15 just a few years ago. He closed with an optimistic vision for what comes next.
“We have taken the next step toward establishing a moon base — not just for the sake of a moon base, but for all the new technologies that we’ll be able to apply to better our lives here on Earth,” Nelson said. “And I think within about 15 years, you’ll see us going to the planet Mars.”