How We Make Rockets That Reach the Moon

Join Dr. Roger Billings and the Science Live team as we explore how we make rockets that reach the Moon, featuring NASA’s Artemis II mission — the first crewed return to the Moon in over 50 years!

In this lesson, discover what makes the massive SLS rocket so powerful: its giant solid rocket boosters, liquid hydrogen fuel, and the incredible engineering that lifts millions of pounds into space. You’ll also explore the advanced Orion spacecraft, the groundbreaking laser communication system that beamed HD video from 240,000 miles away, and the record-breaking 252,000-mile journey that took humans farther from Earth than ever before.

Whether you’re a budding space enthusiast, curious about the Artemis program, learning about rocket science, or dreaming of becoming an astronaut, this lesson has something for you. Perfect for students who want to understand the real engineering and technology behind sending rockets — and people — all the way to the Moon and beyond!

➡️ r-51’s Martian Pet Rock Guide

About DrB

Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology. As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.


Read more about DrB » 
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »

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10,467 Comments

  1. Ireland

    I hope y’all have a great weekend. Do y’all know if dinosours still alive.

    Reply
  2. Alec

    I would love to go to the moon!!

    Reply
  3. Jacob

    Science live is awesome!

    Reply
  4. Natalie

    Stop being mean to r51 we love himmmmm reply to my comment if you ugre

    Reply
  5. Claire

    This was amazing loved this video! <3

    Reply
  6. Khadijah

    Thank you Doctor Roger Billings for this amazing porject

    Reply
  7. Kendal

    Wow! That’s my first time seeing rocks from mars! I loved this video.

    Reply
  8. Madeline

    Really neat video! I love learning about space and rockets.

    Reply
  9. Ayden

    I enjoyed the science live

    Reply
  10. Naja

    The difference between how solid fuels and liquid fuels behave and react is interesting.

    Reply
  11. Jude

    I would love to go to the moon

    Reply
  12. Isaac

    HELOOOOO GUYS

    Reply
  13. Gabriel

    I love science live!

    Reply
  14. Tess

    It would be so cool to go to the moon! I never knew that this is the biggest rocket they have ever sent to space. That’s cool

    Reply
  15. Yahya

    i loce space science

    Reply
  16. Samantha

    rockets are so cool! I wish I could go to the moon.

    Reply
  17. Leanna

    I would love to go to space! Rockets are so big!.

    Reply
  18. Jack

    i like watching the rockets take off

    Reply
  19. Daniel

    I looked up the pictures from Artemis II and they are awesome!

    Reply
  20. Ava

    Me and my sister want to go to mars, to see if we could live there!

    Reply
  21. Yahya

    i love space science.

    Reply
  22. Tasniim

    i want to go space

    Reply
  23. Avyon

    Rocket science is fascinating.

    Reply
  24. Isabella

    I wanna see earth from space!

    Reply
  25. Leenah

    Great live!

    Reply
  26. Ella

    do you read what we send if we send it after you film it and if you do can you say it on science live?

    Reply
  27. Cailey

    It was really cool to be able to watch the launch of the Artemis on YouTube.

    Reply
  28. Anna

    Hi! It’s amazing how complicated rockets are to design and create.

    Reply
  29. Marshall

    I finished my math and science for the school year.

    Reply
  30. Yahya

    i love space science.

    Reply
  31. Annaclaire

    Seeing a solar eclipse form the moon would be awesome!

    Reply
  32. Zack

    Elon musk please take me to Mars 🙂

    Reply
  33. Aanylei

    did paj teloport was she going to the moon to.

    Reply
  34. Adrianna

    Crazy to think about the fact, that we know more about space than our own oceans!

    Reply
  35. Adalynn

    This was awesome and I thought it was pretty cool with that half eclipse photo

    Reply
  36. Zane

    Space would be fun.

    Reply
  37. Zeak

    I wonder what makes up a planet?

    Reply
  38. Adyn

    The science behind rockets is so fascinating!

    Reply
  39. Aidan

    I don’t think midnight represents the start of the day. I think it should be 6 AM.

    Reply
  40. Ziva

    Science Live is awesome!

    Reply
  41. Zoey

    I love watching these! They are always so interesting!

    Reply
  42. Zechariah

    super cool video

    Reply
  43. Addison

    This was so fun!

    Reply
  44. Adalyn

    I loved taking time to attempt learning more about space and rocket engineering in general whenever the Artemis 2 mission took place, space is a very interesting concept and I hope that we can continue advancing towards even bigger space missions in the future!!

    Reply
  45. Abbigail

    The moon rock that was made
    is cool,

    Reply
  46. Yoshio

    science live is cool

    Reply
  47. Adrhianna

    science is my favorite subject!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  48. Adrianna

    I liked this weeks live!!

    Reply
  49. Abram

    I wonder if we will live on Mars one day.

    Reply
  50. Zane

    R51 is the best part of these. But i did really enjoy learning about artimus.

    Reply
  51. Aaron

    Ima go to Pluto oh wait… that’s fragmented

    Reply
  52. Zachariah

    so where is the video footage of Earth itself from artemis II?

    Reply
  53. Adelyn

    great science live

    Reply
  54. Adelyn

    The moon rock skit was hilarious

    Reply
  55. Aelin

    That was cool to see that when the power goes out gravity pulls it down to Earth.

    Reply
  56. Hope

    I want to go to space

    I wonder if well live on Mars one day

    Reply
    • Aanylei

      did paj teloport or did she go to the moon to i don’t no.

      Reply
    • Mahayla

      I loved seeing the pictures from Artemis 2 and am excited to follow Artemis 3. I wonder how long it will take before anyone can get to Mars?

      Reply
    • Sloan

      me too!!!

      Reply
    • Ava

      We might go to Mars if the world ends anytime soon.

      Reply
    • Annabelle

      I like science.

      Reply
    • Josephine

      I think space is scary. and what would happen if your gear fails

      Reply
      • Xiyuan

        And rockets are nicknamed,”The vomit comet”

        Reply
    • Cayden

      they say in 2027 or 2028 they are sending anotehrer artimis rocket and seting up a lunar base

      Reply
  57. Charlie

    thank you for making learning fun

    Reply
  58. Alex

    I want to go to the moon!

    Reply
    • Tristan

      Amazing information

      Reply
  59. Stella

    Rockets are so neat

    Reply
  60. Madison

    I love watching these!

    Reply
  61. Sean

    Rocket Science is awesome!

    Reply
  62. Easton

    That new English course looks cool

    Reply
    • Sarah

      I know

      Reply
  63. Abigail

    I love Acellus.

    Reply
  64. Aida

    I love their reaction when they find out the astronauts are okay!! 😂

    Reply
  65. Adelyn

    My mom still has her pet rock from middle school

    Reply
  66. Zachary

    I like today’s rocket science live

    Reply
  67. Adam

    so cool the rockets

    Reply
  68. Yahnesa

    I loved learning about the rockets!

    Reply
  69. Yasser

    here from morrocco I loved that joke SCIENCE live is so entertaining!

    Reply
  70. Yara

    I love science!

    Reply
  71. Adelaide

    This was a great science live r51 was so funny!😂

    Reply
  72. Abdisamad

    This was a nice video.

    Reply
  73. Aeron

    I love rockets and space so much and its my dream job to go work at x-space or some place like that

    Reply
  74. Zinnia

    space travel is interesting

    Reply
  75. Addison

    Hi from Florida

    Reply
  76. Ahlam

    I love the moon rock that r51 made. Science live is my favorite. I look forward to it every week.

    Reply
  77. Yael

    I LOVE Science! I think it is my favorite class.

    Reply
  78. Xavian

    I love today lesson

    Reply
  79. Zion

    I loved this episode. The rockets are so cool and they look huge in the pictures.

    Reply
  80. Addison

    So cool I love science live!!

    Reply
  81. Adam

    I’ve always been curious about how NASA reached the moon…

    Reply
  82. Zachary

    wow so cool that alligrtors war 31 feet tall and ate dinosaur!

    Reply
  83. Addison

    I love rockets and r51 soso much

    Reply
  84. Kody

    Great lesson, loved the topic of mars landings

    Reply
  85. Kaylee

    I love learning about science!

    Reply
  86. Artemii

    Nice video about Rockets :). I like how they said what its like Star Wars :)))). And the new company what name is Artemis 😁. I really love space themes and they’re really interesting, thanks for this lesson.

    Reply
  87. Ava

    I loved this week’s discussion

    Reply
  88. Kayln

    I love those rockets!! they were huge

    Reply
  89. Qasim

    These were really cool- thank you!

    Reply
  90. Nadia

    hi in love with this

    Reply
  91. Anniston

    I love science live.

    Reply
  92. Jade

    Commenti love r51 sm!

    Reply
  93. Lily

    Good video. Go R-51👨🏻‍🔬

    Reply
  94. Amir

    It’s crazy that they can get a rocket bigger than the Statue of Liberty to space shows how smart humans are.

    Reply
  95. Stefan

    Incredible science live!!

    Reply
  96. Alan

    r51 is very cool. see you next week!

    Reply
  97. Jackson

    Wow amazing!

    Reply
  98. John

    i love r51

    Reply
  99. .

    love it

    Reply
  100. Michael

    Cool r51

    Reply
  101. Hunter

    I liked the video

    Reply
  102. Evelyn

    I thought the moon rock was really cool and interesting.

    Reply
  103. Finley

    Rockets are so cool!

    Reply
  104. Arista

    Love all the space stuff this week

    Reply
  105. Connor

    watched this in Montana!!!!!!

    Reply
  106. Jude

    thanks for this weeks sience live.

    Reply
  107. Aleks

    Can I have the Mars rock pleaseXD

    Reply
  108. Liam

    Rocket’s are so cool!

    Reply
  109. Dylan

    I love Science!

    Reply
  110. Ezrah

    The moon rock is so cool.

    Reply
  111. Caden

    It’s so cool how rockets work

    Reply
  112. Zoe

    love seeing the rockets!

    Reply
  113. Jameson

    Hi from alabama

    Reply
  114. Adrian

    I love learning about space!!

    Reply
  115. Tucker

    Watching from Texas!

    Reply
  116. Roan

    Great hearing about the success of the Artemis II mission! It’s great that we are making trips to the moon after such a long time, and learning about rockets was very cool.

    Reply
  117. Aubree

    Science Live never disappoints! I always learn something new!

    Reply
  118. Richard

    My dad said they made model rockets that used sugar for fuel.

    Reply
  119. Jascedy

    I think it’s cool how rockets are so big.

    Reply
  120. Crystal

    Comment Ï love r-51! It’s makes learning more fun.

    Reply
  121. Briannette

    I love this

    Reply
  122. Trevor

    Loved this

    Reply
  123. Emma

    All the space content in this science live was so entertaining!

    Reply
  124. Zandell

    Loved the space stuff cant wait till next week!

    Reply
  125. Vu

    I love Science Live!

    Reply
  126. Zeshawn.

    Those alligators are pretty cool, I liked learning about Artemis 2.

    Reply
  127. Alexis

    This is interesting!

    Reply
  128. Kinley

    i love these ideas!

    Reply
  129. Ava

    there is a lot to learn when you watch science live

    Reply
  130. Yaide

    I am a sophomore, but the college prep English class sounded so great! This live was awesome, too, I loved hearing more about the Artemis II launch and NASA’s future plans. Also, of course I loved r-51’s rock pets, lol. Guys, Mars is starting to smell really Musky 😂

    Reply
  131. Chinmay

    It’s always so fascinating to think they build massive rockets but so much of it is spent on just launch, and the vast majority of the time is just a tiny capsule. Amazing episode of Sciencelive as always.

    Reply
  132. Jezrah

    Three astronauts went to the Moon: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

    Armstrong and Aldrin landed and walked on the Moon.
    Collins stayed in orbit.
    All three returned safely to Earth.

    Reply
  133. Brair

    This video was so cool!

    Reply
  134. Kingston

    It’s amazing that the Artemis II has launched. It has been 55 years since another rocket has gotten this close to the moon!

    Reply
  135. Bentley

    great video

    Reply
  136. Israel

    Science live is awesome!!!

    Reply
  137. Sasha

    Thank you for another awesome science live!!

    Reply
  138. Ariana

    love ittt , the rocket was so cool

    Reply
  139. Lucas

    Science is so cool

    Reply
  140. Vanessa

    Hello from Georgia

    Reply
  141. Levi

    How much propulsion would it take to get a rocket to the moon?

    Reply
  142. Gabrielle

    Thank You Acellus, this was by far my favorite Science Live, I loved learning more about the Artemis 2 program , the future projects and all about space. I look forward to more. 🙂

    Reply
  143. Lillian

    Love Rockets!

    Reply
  144. Tom

    I love rockets!

    Reply
  145. Kristin

    Very cool! These include so many cool factors!

    Reply
  146. Allison

    It was fascinating to learn more about rockets in this lesson! Can’t wait for more!

    Reply
  147. Ana

    I love r-51

    Reply
  148. Brandon

    I love Science Live. R51 is hilarious. I look forward to it each week. I learn a lot from them.

    Reply
  149. Finley

    Calling from Michigan

    Reply
  150. Esalena

    Loved learning about the rockets

    Reply
  151. Samantha

    These are amazing!

    Reply
  152. Anialese

    All the animals that whent extinct do we always estimate how they looked cause we only get the skeleton ?

    Reply
  153. Raphael

    It was cool seeing pictures of the moon.

    Reply
  154. Dayne

    are we the only living thing on planets that we are aware of?

    Reply
  155. Natee

    What are the differences between NASA and SpaceX?

    Reply
  156. Punika

    rocket are so cool i love science live!

    Reply
  157. Alanna

    That moon rock that r5l made is so cool!!!!

    Reply
  158. Daonuea

    I love Area 51

    Reply
  159. Trinity

    WHOOOAAAAAAAAHHHH how tall is that rocket? How much fuel does that take??? (Like gallons or something? OwO)
    How much does that even cost??? :OO (to launch, test, build, fuel up, etc.?)

    Reply
  160. Annalise

    such a good live!

    Reply
  161. Jeramiah

    Great and interesting video.

    Reply
  162. Vivien

    It was cool,I like how Dr. Pajet Monet an astronaut scene!

    Reply
  163. Milani

    Hello from CA!

    Wow this weeks science live was amazing! I enjoyed hearing about space and rockets.

    Reply
  164. Gunner

    Going into space would be amazing!

    Reply
  165. Vu

    this good I like it

    Reply
  166. Primchalisa

    How did scientists first begin to solve the idea of measuring the distance between the earth and other planets?

    Reply
  167. Saylor

    I loved the video this week. Thank you Science Live.

    Reply
  168. Jamie

    Loved all of the space stuff this week!

    Reply
  169. Skylar

    these videos are sooo fun !!!

    Reply
  170. Hailey

    I love the r51

    Reply
  171. Henry

    These videos are the best

    Reply
  172. Ava

    Very exciting stuff this week!

    Reply
  173. Pria

    I love Science Live!

    Reply
  174. Collin

    how is that possable

    Reply
  175. Molly

    Molly- This video was great I can’t wait tell the next one!

    Reply

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