Why the latest moon mission won't land on the lunar surface

0:11 What's up, sunshine?

0:12 Happy Monday to you.

0:13 I'm Coy Wire.

0:13 This is CNN 10, where I simply tell

0:15 you the what letting you decide what to think.

0:17 Hope you had an awesome weekend.

0:19 You're feeling good, feeling great.

0:20 What did the egg say when he walked into the party?

0:23 I'm a lit.

0:24 We start with an update on NASA's Artemis 2 mission,

0:27 the latest step in the race to return humans to the moon.

0:30 After numerous delays,

0:32 the mission is set to blast off as soon as this Wednesday evening.

0:36 The four-person crew arrived at Kennedy Space

0:38 Center in Florida to make final preparations.

0:41 Artemis 2 is NASA's first manned mission to the moon in more than 50 years,

0:46 but the crew will stop short of actually landing on the lunar surface.

0:50 They'll circle around the moon instead.

0:52 Here's our Jackie Wattles with more on the why.

0:56 After 50 years, NASA is sending humans on a path back to the moon.

1:00 It's a multi-billion dollar mission called Artemis 2,

1:04 and it's a critical test run before landing.

1:07 So essentially, it's a very expensive flyby.

1:10 But we already landed on the moon back when we were still using rotary phones.

1:14 So why all this fuss for just a test run?

1:17 And why not just land again?

1:19 Well, there's a few big reasons why.

1:22 And the first one is financial.

1:27 NASA began the Apollo program in the 1960s.

1:30 Back then, astronauts used a fully integrated system,

1:33 rocket, command module, and lunar lander.

1:36 The Apollo program was a huge national investment,

1:39 but NASA doesn't have Apollo money anymore.

1:44 For Artemis, NASA has built the Orion spacecraft

1:47 and a rocket to get crew from Earth to lunar orbit.

1:51 But for the lunar lander, the agency decided to bring in SpaceX and Blue Origin.

1:55 It's up to those companies to figure out how to get

1:57 the astronauts from NASA's spacecraft down to the moon's surface.

2:02 Reason two, NASA doesn't have all the tools it needs for a touchdown.

2:06 For Apollo, we landed near the moon's equator.

2:09 And since the program ended in 1972,

2:12 the US has only been sending astronauts to low Earth orbit.

2:15 First with the space shuttle, and now with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules.

2:20 But for Artemis, NASA's long-term goal is to eventually

2:23 build a base on the South Pole of the moon.

2:28 Pop quiz, hotshot.

2:29 According to Greek legend,

2:31 what was the name of the messenger who ran the first marathon?

2:34 Achilles, Pheidippides, Socrates, or Leonidas?

2:42 If you said Pheidippides, dippity-do-dah-dippity-ay.

2:45 After the Battle of Marathon, the legend states Pheidippides was sent to run

2:49 25 miles to Athens to deliver urgent news.

2:52 Burst into the city and shouted, "Victory!" Then collapsed from exhaustion.

2:58 Earlier this year in Atlanta,

2:59 a big race with big prizes on the line took an unexpected turn.

3:03 Three leaders at the women's USA Track& Field Half Marathon

3:06 Championships were accidentally guided off course near the finish line,

3:11 and it cost them a chance at the $20,000 first place prize

3:15 and a shot at one of four qualifying spots for the world stage.

3:19 Now, the runners are receiving a rare second chance.

3:22 Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley,

3:24 and Edna Kiplagat were leading with just two miles to go when a mix-up sent them

3:30 off course after a police vehicle marking

3:32 the route left to respond to an emergency call.

3:35 World Athletics says it has made an exceptional decision and will allow

3:39 the US to send three extra runners to the championships in Copenhagen.

3:44 The three runners will compete as non-scoring athletes,

3:47 meaning they will not be eligible for medals or prize money,

3:50 but they can still earn world ranking points.

3:53 To get good grades in school, it takes three things:

3:56 work hard, be willing to learn, and sacrifice.

3:59 And those are the same three qualities

4:01 that any coach is looking for in their athletes.

4:04 Outwork everyone, be willing to learn how to improve each day,

4:07 and give up some of the things you'd like to do

4:09 in order to step closer to the proximity of your goals.

4:12 We got to spend time with the newly crowned girls

4:15 high school basketball national player of the year, Kate Harpring.

4:19 The senior at Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia,

4:21 has worked to refine all of those qualities.

4:24 She broke the Georgia all-time girls basketball career scoring record,

4:28 leading her team to their second straight state title days before

4:31 being named the 2026 Naismith High School Girls Player of the Year,

4:36 presented annually to the girls high school

4:38 basketball player achieving great success on the court.

4:41 Past winners include Asia Wilson, Paige Bueckers, and Candace Parker.

4:46 I remember trying to balance practices and schoolwork in high school,

4:49 getting in extra workouts while friends were out having extra fun in college.

4:54 I asked Kate all about her journey over

4:56 a good old-fashioned game of horse with a twist.

5:06 Welcome to Marist.

5:07 Oh my goodness, this is the place that Kate built.

5:10 I'm going to just going to say it.

5:12 Congratulations, national player of the year.

5:14 How does that feel?

5:15 It's amazing.

5:16 Um it's been a goal I've been really working for, especially my senior year.

5:20 Um and it's just amazing.

5:21 I feel so honored.

5:22 This is Kate, Kate Harpring, the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year,

5:27 committed to play basketball at the University

5:29 of North Carolina Chapel Hill next season.

5:32 And her accolades read like a phone book.

5:35 She's a hardworking student-athlete and a great teammate.

5:39 Kate has stayed humble and hungry.

5:41 I mean, she's good at basketball just cuz

5:43 it's all luck and it's all genetics, right?

5:45 No.

5:46 No.

5:46 Tell me about Kate.

5:47 Never seen anybody work that hard.

5:50 Never seen anybody uh every single day not

5:53 satisfied with what she did the day before.

5:56 Even as good as she is, you know?

5:58 Um always wanting more, always having uh bigger dreams,

6:01 bigger desires, things like that.

6:03 That's what makes her so special.

6:05 Georgia's all-time leading scorer in girls high school basketball.

6:08 What was that like celebrating with your teammates

6:11 on the court after winning the state championship?

6:14 Yeah, it was amazing.

6:15 Um I mean, those teammates are my best friends.

6:18 Uh we've been working for this for so long every single practice through blood,

6:21 sweat, tears, just everything.

6:23 And to win, it's just so relieving and uh so earned.

6:27 Not your typical interview.

6:28 We do it over a game of horse or CNN 10 in this case.

6:32 First one to miss five shots loses.

6:34 I grew up a wrestler, so I just hope I make a shot or two,

6:38 or this interview might be really short.

6:40 Oh, no.

6:41 Okay, there's a C.

6:44 C.

6:45 Oh, gosh.

6:45 She's She's hitting her groove now.

6:48 go.

6:47 Want to be like Kate.

6:49 Uh-oh.

6:50 C N.

6:52 Oh, no.

6:53 Come on.

6:56 I knew it wasn't going to go in.

6:57 So bad.

7:01 Oh, she's on fire.

7:03 So, when you're out there in the big moments and not water.

7:07 and you're feeling a little fear,

7:08 like if you could talk to fear, what would you say to it?

7:11 To get out of the way so I can just perform, honestly.

7:14 All right, fear, get out of the way.

7:16 I'm not going to do it yet.

7:19 Oh, bank.

7:20 I didn't call bank.

7:21 Does that count?

7:22 I'm sure it counts.

7:25 Yes.

7:25 Our tough times can make us tougher.

7:26 What's something you've been through that was really challenging for you,

7:29 and what did you learn through that?

7:31 Yeah, I'd say honestly the recruitment process.

7:34 Um that was definitely something that was very hard.

7:37 Um it started pretty early for me, which is like unusual for a lot of people.

7:42 Um like in eighth grade I got my first offer.

7:44 So, really just like the having the pressure of like people always watching you.

7:48 Like you have to go show up to every single game.

7:51 How did you learn you best handle pressure?

7:54 Just playing hard, just focusing on the game.

7:56 If I play hard, I'm going to get um, like the easy stuff.

7:59 It'll come to me.

8:00 So, But you're not just a basketball player.

8:03 You get really good grades, too.

8:04 So, why was it important to you to also be a good student?

8:08 Getting good grades um,

8:09 along with just like working hard, studying, stuff like that.

8:12 Um, I feel like it's just going to help me for later in life.

8:15 Whether it's hoop, whether it's school,

8:17 like you just want to be good at everything you do.

8:19 Yes, for sure.

8:20 For sure.

8:20 I don't like getting bad grades.

8:22 I don't like doing anything bad.

8:24 So, don't like losing.

8:26 That was close.

8:27 Is there anything you're not good at?

8:29 Honestly, driving.

8:29 Driving's a good one.

8:31 My parents will like this.

8:34 I popped a few tires.

8:36 Um, so that's probably something.

8:38 So, why business school?

8:39 What What intrigues you by that?

8:41 What do you want to be when you grow up?

8:45 Yeah.

8:44 Um, I mean obviously um, basketball's kind of the main path right now

8:48 just because of how much women's sports have grown.

8:50 I feel like business kind of ties into a lot of stuff.

8:52 Um, after basketball whether it's running your own

8:56 or just kind of knowing how businesses work.

9:00 Um, and through that I feel like that's

9:01 going to help a lot with basketball because

9:03 you can find so many like different things

9:06 to do like off the court for basketball.

9:08 She's on fire.

9:09 Oh my gosh.

9:15 That's it.

9:16 CNN 10.

9:18 She got me.

9:19 I did.

9:19 Do you love kicking guys' butts in basketball?

9:22 I mean, Cuz you're really good at it.

9:24 You're really good at it, Kate.

9:26 I guess so.

9:27 Yeah, I guess so.

9:37 You might want to sit down for today's story getting

9:39 a 10 out of 10 and go for the win.

9:41 This is office chair racing and yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.

9:45 Across Japan, teams of three race relay

9:48 style through the streets pushing their office

9:50 chairs to the limits in a 2-hour endurance race called the ISU 1 Grand Prix.

9:56 These folks take climbing the corporate ladder to a whole new level.

9:59 Think Formula 1 complete with intense training,

10:03 pit style rider changes and strategy at every turn.

10:07 Tsuyoshi Tahara launched the first race

10:10 in Kyoto back in 2010 inspired by childhood

10:13 moment when a teacher told him to stop playing with an office chair.

10:16 Next time you get a little too carried away

10:18 and told to stay in your seat in Japan, that might just mean go faster.

10:22 Two shout-outs today cuz that's just how we roll.

10:25 First up, Mr.

10:26 McFall at the Donald R.

10:28 Getty School in Edmonton, Alberta.

10:30 One student tells us that you may be getting a haircut after this shout-out.

10:35 Need pics or it didn't happen and this shout-out goes

10:37 to Miss M at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

10:42 Thanks to you and everyone around the world who's

10:44 been subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel.

10:48 Have a marvelous Motivation Monday, my friends.

10:50 I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.