Apollo Lunar Lander

The astronauts of Artemis-2 are getting used to normal gravity after spending nine days in weightlessness. The yet-to-be name crew of Artemis-3 may spend part of their time in orbit facing the same risks as Apollo astronauts Jim McDivitt and Rusty Schweikart in 1969. Those astronauts tested the bug-like lunar lander that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would use during the first ever landing on the Moon.

Jimmy Wales of Huntsville recalls how the windows of his boyhood home would rattle. NASA engineers, nearby, were testing the Saturn V rockets that would send astronauts to the moon. Wales is among the youngsters referred to as the "children of Apollo." Kids, including Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft, were reportedly inspired by the Astronaut Neil Armstrong's "one small step" on the moon. Wales boyhood in Huntsville was one topic we take up in this encore presentation of "APR Notebook." It's at 8:30 am on Alabama Public Radio.

NASA said it's revamping its Artemis moon exploration program to make it more like the fast-paced Apollo program half a century ago. The plan means adding an extra practice flight before attempting a high-risk lunar landing with a crew in two years. This could mean more work in the Huntsville area, with more launches of NASA’s Alabama built super rocket called the “Space Launch System” or SLS.

NASA is looking back on a bit of space history today while a University of Alabama astronaut is focusing on the future. It was on this date back in 1972 when the crew of Apollo 17 returned to Earth. That was NASA’s last manned lunar mission. Astronaut, and UA grad, Bob Hines is supporting the flight of Artemis Two, which will soon send people back to the moon.

A NASA space capsule built and managed by Alabama’s Marshall Space Flight Center is set for a major milestone today. The unmanned Orion capsule is scheduled to arrive at the Moon. The maneuver is part of its mission to test the vehicle that was launched aboard the new Artemis one rocket.

NASA picked Alabama's "Rocket City" on Friday to lead development of the next moon lander for astronauts. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville beat…