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Why the latest moon mission won't land on the lunar surface    March 30, 2026

 

What's up, sunshine? Happy Monday to you. I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, where I simply tell you the what, letting you decide what to think.

 

Hope you had an awesome weekend. You're feeling good, feeling great. What did the egg say when he walked into the party? I'm lit.

 

We start with an update on NASA's Artemis 2 mission, the latest step in the race to return humans to the moon. After numerous delays, the mission is set to blast off as soon as this Wednesday evening. The four person crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to make final preparations.

 

Artemis 2 is NASA's first manned mission to the moon in more than 50 years, but the crew will stop short of actually landing on the lunar surface. They'll circle around the moon instead. Here's our Jackie Waddles with more on the why.

 

stop short of 差一点没（做或说）, 险些（做或说）

 

After 50 years, NASA is sending humans on a path back to the moon. It's a multi-billion dollar mission called Artemis 2, and it's a critical test run before landing. So essentially, it's a very expensive flyby.

 

But we already landed on the moon back when we were still using rotary phones. So why all this fuss for just a test run? And why not just land again? Well, there's a few big reasons why. And the first one is financial.

 

fuss [fʌs] n. 忙乱；大惊小怪；小题大作

 

NASA began the Apollo program in the 1960s. Back then, astronauts used a fully integrated system, rocket, command module, and lunar lander. The Apollo program was a huge national investment, but NASA doesn't have Apollo money anymore.

 

command module 指挥舱

 

For Artemis, NASA has built the Orion spacecraft and a rocket to get crew from Earth to lunar orbit. But for the lunar lander, the agency decided to bring in SpaceX and Blue Origin. It's up to those companies to figure out how to get the astronauts from NASA's spacecraft down to the moon's surface.

 

bring in 引入、引进

 

Reason two, NASA doesn't have all the tools it needs for a touchdown. For Apollo, we landed near the moon's equator. And since the program ended in 1972, the U.S. has only been sending astronauts to low Earth orbit, first with the space shuttle, and now with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules.

 

But for Artemis, NASA's long-term goal is to eventually build a base on the south pole of the moon.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot. According to Greek legend, what was the name of the messenger who ran the first marathon,

 

Achilles, Pheidippides, Socrates or Leonidas?

 

Pheidippides [fəˌdɪpəˈdiz] n. 菲迪皮德斯 (古希腊时代的雅典士兵)

 

If you said Pheidippides, dipity-doo-da-dipity-ay.

 

After the battle of marathon, the legend states Pheidippides was sent to run 25 miles to Athens to deliver urgent news. Burst into the city and shouted, victory, then collapsed from exhaustion.

 

Earlier this year in Atlanta, a big race with big prizes on the line took an unexpected turn.

 

Three leaders at the Women's USA Track and Field Half Marathon Championships were accidentally guided off course near the finish line, and it cost them a chance at the $20,000 first place prize and a shot at one of four qualifying spots for the world stage.

 

Now, the runners are receiving a rare second chance. Jess McLean, Emma Grace Hurley and Edna Kurgat were leading with just two miles to go when a mix-up sent them off course after a police vehicle marking the route left to respond to an emergency call.

 

mix-up [ˈmɪksˈʌp] n. 混乱; 混淆; 搞错

 

World Athletics says it has made an exceptional decision and will allow the U.S. to send three extra runners to the championships in Copenhagen.

 

The three runners will compete as non-scoring athletes, meaning they will not be eligible for medals or prize money, but they can still earn world ranking points.

 

To get good grades in school, it takes three things.

 

Work hard, be willing to learn, and sacrifice. And those are the same three qualities that any coach is looking for in their athletes. Outwork everyone, be willing to learn how to improve each day, and give up some of the things you'd like to do in order to step closer to the proximity of your goals.

 

We got to spend time with the newly crowned Girls High School Basketball National Player of the Year, Kate Harpring. The senior at Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia, has worked to refine all of those qualities.

 

She broke the Georgia all-time girls basketball career scoring record, leading her team to their second straight state title, days before being named the 2026 Naismith High School Girls Player of the Year.

 

Presented annually to the girls high school basketball player, achieving great success on the court. Past winners include A'ja Wilson, Paige Beckers, and Candace Parker. I remember trying to balance practices in schoolwork in high school, getting in extra workouts while friends were out having extra fun in college.

 

I asked Kate all about her journey over a good old-fashioned game of horse with a twist.

 

Welcome to Marist. Oh my goodness, this is the place that Kate built.

 

I'm just gonna say it. Congratulations, National Player of the Year. How does that feel?

 

It's amazing. It's been a goal that I've been really working for, especially my senior year, and it's just amazing. I feel so honored.

 

This is Kate. Kate Harpring, the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year, committed to play basketball at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill next season. And her accolades read like a phone book. She's a hardworking student, athlete, and a great teammate.

 

accolade [ˌækǝˈlеd] n. 荣誉，嘉奖; 授爵典礼

 

Kate has stayed humble and hungry.

 

I mean, she's good at basketball just because it's all luck and it's all genetics, right? No, no. Tell me about Kate.

 

Never seen anybody work that hard. Never seen anybody every single day not satisfied with what she did the day before, even as good as she is, you know? Always wanting more, always having bigger dreams, bigger desires, things like that. That's what makes her so special.

 

Georgia's all-time leading scorer in girls high school basketball.

 

What was that like celebrating with your teammates on the court after winning the state championship?

 

Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, those teammates, they're my best friends. We've been working for this for so long, every single practice, through blood, sweat, tears, just everything. And to win, it's just so relieving and so-earned.

 

relieve [rɪˈliv] v. 使宽慰，使放心

so-earned: hard-earned

 

Not your typical interview.

 

We do it over a game of horse, or CNN 10 in this case.

 

First one to miss five shots loses. I grew up a wrestler, so I just hope I make a shot or two, or this interview might be really short.

 

Oh, no. Okay, there's a C. Oh, gosh. She's hitting her groove now.

 

hit a groove 表现理想；进行得很成功

 

There you go. I want to be like Kate. Uh-oh.

 

C, N. Oh, no. All right. I knew I wasn't going to do it.

 

So bad. So bad. Oh, she's on fire.

 

So when you're out there in the big moments. And not one. And you're feeling a little fear, like if you could talk to fear, what would you say to it? To get out of the way so I can just perform, honestly.

 

All right, fear, get out of the way. I'm not going to do it yet. Oh, bank.

 

I didn't call bank. Does that count? I'm sure it counts. Yes.

 

Our tough times can make us tougher. What's something you've been through that was really challenging for you, and what did you learn through that?

 

Yeah, I'd say, honestly, the recruitment process. That was definitely something that was very hard.

 

It started pretty early for me, which is unusual for a lot of people. In eighth grade, I got my first offer. So really just having the pressure of people always watching you.

 

You have to go show up to every single game.

 

How did you learn you best handle pressure? Just playing hard. Just focusing on the game.

 

If I play hard, I'm going to get the easy stuff. It'll come to me.

 

But you're not just a basketball player.

 

You get really good grades, too. So why was it important to you to also be a good student?

 

Getting good grades, along with just working hard, studying, stuff like that, I feel like it's just going to help me for later in life.

 

Whether it's hoop, whether it's school, you just want to be good at everything you do.

 

Yes, for sure. I don't like getting bad grades. I don't like doing any of that.

 

So I don't like losing. Oh, that was close.

 

Is there anything you're not good at? Honestly, driving.

 

Driving is a good one. My parents will like this. I flopped a few tires. So that's probably something.

 

So why business school? What intrigues you by that? What do you want to be when you grow up?

 

intrigue [ɪnˈtriɡ] v. 激起……的好奇心（或兴趣）

 

Yeah. I mean, obviously, basketball is kind of the main path right now, just because of how much women's sports have grown.

 

I feel like business kind of ties into a lot of stuff. After basketball, whether it's running your own or just kind of knowing how businesses work and through that, I feel like that's going to help a lot with basketball because you can find so many different things to do off the court for basketball. She's on fire.

 

Oh, my gosh. Oh, that's it. CNN 10.

 

She got me. I did. Do you love kicking guys butts in basketball? Because you're really good at it, Kate.

 

I guess so. Yeah, I guess so.

 

You might want to sit down for today's story, getting a 10 out of 10 and go for the win.

 

This is office chair racing. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. Across Japan, teams of three race relay style through the streets, pushing their office chairs to the limits in a two-hour endurance race called the ISU-1 Grand Prix.

 

These folks take climbing the corporate ladder to a whole new level. Think Formula One, complete with intense training, pit style, rider changes, and strategy at every turn. Tsuyoshi Tahara launched the first race in Kyoto back in 2010, inspired by a childhood moment when a teacher told him to stop playing with an office chair.

 

Next time you get a little too charried away and told to stay in your seat in Japan, that might just mean go faster.

 

Two shout outs today, because that's just how we roll. First up, Mr. McFall at the Donald R. Getty School in Edmonton, Alberta.

 

One student tells us that you may be getting a haircut after this shout out. Need pics or it didn't happen. And this shout out goes to Miss M at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

 

Thanks to you and everyone around the world who's been subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel. Have a marvelous Motivation Monday, my friends. I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.