The Artemis Program, the New Space Race with China, and the Role of Elon Musk Mark Whittington discussed the Artemis program and the new space race with China, emphasizing that the US is driven back

The Artemis Program, the New Space Race with China, and the Role of Elon Musk Mark Whittington discussed the Artemis program and the new space race with China, emphasizing that the US is driven back to the moon by competition with the People's Republic of China. The moon is viewed as a source for mining and a refueling stepping stone to Mars, with Elon Musk's SpaceX playing a central role. Co-host David Livingston questioned the engineering challenge of SpaceX's Starship and life support systems for Mars. The program's sustainability depends on phasing out the costly, expendable Space Launch System (SLS).