13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II - Artemis II: 12. Please return to your seats

Download Artemis II: 12. Please return to your seats

The Artemis II mission hurtles towards re-entry and splashdown. The 13 Minutes crew run through the schedule that includes 28,864 mph, searing heat, 11 parachutes, and 3.9g forces.

Long-time Nasa scientist Dr Phil Metzger talks about the issue of AVCOAT – the ablative coating that will shield the capsule’s flat underside. And we also talk about his work at Nasa’s “Swamp Works” where much was studied about building structures on the moon for a moonbase.

Season 4 theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

You can get in touch with the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II team by emailing 13minutes@bbc.co.uk.

13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II is a BBC Audio Science production for the BBC World Service.

Presenters: Tim Peake and Maggie Aderin
Producers: Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston
Series editor: Martin Smith

Published on Friday, 10th April 2026.

Available Podcasts from 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

Subscribe to 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II webpage.