On Wednesday night, NASA’s Artemis II mission launched four astronauts in the Orion spacecraft for the first crewed moon mission since 1972, and Stephen Colbert shares the excitement. In a segment, the host notes that this mission is the initial step in a sequence of scheduled missions leading up to the Artemis IV moon landing in 2028.
“Ooh, I love a good franchise,” Colbert quips. “After Artemis IV we’ll see Artemis V: The Way of Water, Artemis VI: Money Never Sleeps, and Austin Powers 3: The Artemis Who Shagged Me.”
Colbert continues discussing the mission, covering the planned lunar route and the four astronauts aboard. “Wait a minute, that isn’t right,” Colbert jokes. “I don’t see Katy Perry in there. Is it really a space mission if Jeff Bezos hasn’t welded a terrified Gayle King into a metal tube?”