>> The new era of space exploration is under way.

Scientists, space enthusiasts and general skywatchers.

We're delighted earlier this month.

As for astronauts spent 10 days on a trip around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

But the end of the Artemis 2 mission is just the beginning for NASA's other goals.

Like building a moon base to studying faraway galaxies.

Joining us now, our Hunter Miller, a public observing educator at the Adler Planetarium Charles Mud, principal attorney at Mud Law who specializes in space law.

It is a thing.

And Allison Strong professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University and probably the coolest title space lawyer.

thanks to everyone for joining us.

We appreciate you.

A Hunter Miller.

What tells apartments to mission what did that accomplished?

So the goal of the Artemis 2 mission.

These are really very iterative missions that are all building towards a big future goal.

>> So this is the first test of the space launch system Orion spacecraft with humans in sides.

That was a really big step to take.

>> To move us towards an project S towards future missions, including winning astronauts on the >> What are the plans for Artemis 3, 4 and beyond.

So this has changed a little bit recently.

So Artemis 3 is now planned as a another test mission that will staying in Earth orbit rather than venturing to the moon.

This will allow them to have some future, some further tests with.

>> Docking with lunar landing module is being created by private corporations today.

So that is a test they thought was very important, an additional step that they wanted to add to this project with Artemis for being the full on return to the moon land astronauts on the lunar surface and that is currently being projected for as recent as 2028 very soon that feels like a tight timeline.

Flicked back to I mean, just tonight, unscientific mind coming up in a couple of years.

Basically, it is absolutely soon.

But, you know, when you have things like Artemis 2 that have launched their using very similar technology to return to the moon itself.

So, you know, it is a tight timeline will see if they can pull it off.

There's a lot of moving parts for these missions, but they always like to project, you know, the most positive outlooks.

See what we can do.

And I'm hopeful that they're gonna push to get us their Thank Charles.

What is international law say about what a country can do on the moon or anywhere in space?

Well, one of the most interesting things is that the moon and other celestial bodies as the terms happened to be in the Outer Space treaty and other documents.

>> Are the province of all humankind.

So no country, no party can claim ownership to a particular area of land of the moon.

>> What's interesting, though, the moon agreement, which was the last of the 5 treaties, space treaties was 1984, and the United States is not a party to the moon agreement.

And one of the main reasons for that is that the moon agreement went beyond the Outer Space treaty and so that nobody could on minerals or anything mined or extracted from the moon or celestial bodies.

And there are actually 4 countries, the Japan, UAE and Luxembourg that have laws contrary to the moon agreement and saying, yes, we things that we might.

And that is one of the future projects to mind from asteroids.

What is the U.S.

and maybe some of those other countries?

What's the country's rationed now?

>> For disagreeing with all the other countries that that have signed on to this.

And clarify one point and that most countries are not on the moon agreement.

I think there's probably less than 30 countries are actually signed on to the moon agreement than in comparison.

Really quickly.

The Artemis accords that the U.S.

has put forward has 62 countries.

Now a lot of your being actually signing on yesterday.

Welcome Lot B, a >> house.

And you are working on that early stages of a project with NASA that a look at potentially habitable worlds.

Tell us about that.

Yeah, that's right.

So it's a really exciting time for NASA science as well as space exploration and people are undoubtedly familiar with Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb, Space Telescope Roman, which will be launching in September.

But the one you're referring to is called habitable Worlds.

Observatory will be the next big NASA flagship.

And the idea here is to build essentially a super Hubble.

So it'll be bigger than Jamie team.

But at a look at UV wavelengths slay couple does and into the optical.

And so to let us look at Earth like planets around sun-like stars really for the first time and assess whether or not their habitable.

So it answer really for the first time this pressing question that we have, are we alone in the universe?

Are we alone in the universe?

Can we move to another planet if we mess this one up, there is no Planet but I think it's a you know, it's it's an age old question for humanity, I think.

And one that has eluded us because it's so technically challenging.

It requires an ultra stable telescope and a lot of technology that we're still developing.

So there's actually a lot of crossover between things in sort aerospace engineering and building the sort of next generation facilities like habitable worlds, uncertainty.

You mentioned the James Webb Space Telescope already out in space.

What are scientists learning from that cash?

It's really been a, you know, such a transformational facility and the world's best Christmas gifts, right?

And launched on Christmas Morning.

So I would say like the most interesting thing that we've learned is that everything is happening a lot earlier than we expected.

When we look at the very first galaxies, we see that there are a lot more mature than we expected.

So it's like looking back and expecting to see, you know, infants and seeing toddlers instead.

Now what we want to understand is what's driving this.

Why are galaxies forming so quickly and maybe this will help us understand, for example, the origin of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Hunter House, NASA working with private companies as they work towards possibly building a moon base.

So the role of private companies, it's going to take a few different roles along the process.

So the first step is going to be in future Artemis missions where >> they will be building components that will be used for landing astronauts on the lunar surface.

But looking ahead to the not NASA's plan for an extended moon base, you know, time on the moon for astronauts that will require many more landings.

Many more launches the NASA's capable of achieving by themselves just to get the materials required to construct these bases on them.

And so that is where private companies will really become very a central is in delivering these payloads to the lunar surface so that astronauts can go live on these bases and learn more about them there any ever.

Any criticisms concerns, conflicts about, you know, sort of the private involvement in what until what, the last 10, 20 years has for the most part been sort government's effort, right?

wasn't the original like back during the Space age.

>> That was all NASA.

All right.

It is a little bit of a new Also say that, you know, another thing and they're really pushing for with, you know, Artemis project is international cooperation as well.

This is really a mission for the entire world.

>> It's something that can only be accomplished with that cooperation because these are much more challenging goals than we have ever accomplished in space exploration in the past.

So I think it really just comes down to requiring the help of a lot of different folks to make these really big lofty goals possible.

And I think that really showcase is why we are choosing to return to the moon.

Now, you know, over 50 years after, you know, the last time we landed humans on all hands on deck.

Everybody to Charles.

What what are the legal questions, though, that pop up as private companies start to build a presence in space as well?

>> Well, one of the legal questions is our company under the same set of rules.

For example, tourist actually of somebody who watches the satellite.

Are they subject to the laws here on the United States?

And they are.

It's very clear that even under the Outer Space Treaty that alone the countries from which rocket or any object happens to be launch controls that that launch.

And if a U.S.

company, for example, launches a satellite, then that company in the satellite operations are still subject 2 United States law.

And that means to be very clear, because there's a limited amount of space, even though it's big.

There's a limited amount of space and the very south to and wants a low earth orbit.

So we need to make sure that the laws apply and that the country's the companies know that.

If that makes yes, it doesn't.

Following.

>> So then there's the president's budget request for NASA in 2027.

It would increase funding for space exploration but cut funding for science by 46% and cutting the total agency by 23%.

Allison, what might the U.S.

lose if these cuts are approved?

>> So I think it is very concerning obviously, I understand the desire to have a balanced but the science portfolio, if NASA has given us, I think some of the most amazing discoveries about our place in the universe over the last 30 years.

And it has helped the United States be leaders in astronomy and space science.

So we would lose a variety of telescopes.

I mean, we're familiar with the big names, but all of the telescope's, you know, there are dozens that work together to help us answer questions about stars, planets and galaxies.

>> And and ultimately what we would lose us, the ability to train future generations of scientists.

Most of the NASA money in addition to supporting missions goes towards training.

Scientists training students doing public outreach and all of that would be in jeopardy after physics in particular is actually slated to be cut by 65%.

And I don't know what you're supposed to do if a 3rd of the budget that you expected to certainly not meet these lofty goals that we've been talking Certainly not scientifically Fortunately Congress and I think most Americans are fully in support of supporting both science and space exploration.

And I did a quick calculation earlier.

I think the whole budget of NASA science plus space exploration works out to like one coffee per month per American.

And I think that's a pretty good Charles can investments and NASA had of those spur commercial innovation.

>> Well, you know, now, sir, kind of the impetus for all of the companies and everything that's come in the United States.

You know, they they kind of system from the research and the investment that's paid Bennett that made in Nassau.

And I think that that continued cooperation is necessary.

And SpaceX has had a huge part of working with now.

So to provide launches and actually move away from a time where the U.S.

had to rely on Russia to launch.

So there has been a commercial public-private partnership.

And I think that's going to continue into the Hunter couple of seconds left, whether it's the moon, faraway galaxies.

What do you think?

It's important to study space?

>> You know, I think it's a lot of reasons that it's important.

There's, of course, the science benefits, the cat out of exploring space.

Not just understanding of what our place in the universe.

>> But also a result and tons of other discoveries that are very useful in our day-to-day life.

Right.

But I think another element that's really important to me is the wonder that exploring space brings about I see that on people's faces every day of my work.

And that's something that I think space can provide.