Later today, NASA will launch the Artemis II mission, sending astronauts to the moon (albeit on a flyby, non-landing mission) for the first time in decades.
It’s the kind of news story that sends the media abuzz with excitement. After all, it’s not often that you get good news and compelling visuals on a pre-determined schedule.
While every TV news outlet plans to cover the launch, ABC News and its sister company National Geographic are betting that they can offer what others can’t: expansion into broadcast television and live streaming, and perhaps most importantly: access to a first look inside the spacecraft itself.
ABC says its coverage of the launch will air on ABC, and will stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. But the secret weapon may be National Geographic, which will also have live coverage (as will NASA, of course).
NASA and Nat Geo have signed a non-repayable Space Act Agreement that will bring specially designed cameras and audio equipment from National Geographic to the Orion spacecraft. The media brand, which has a long history in space coverage, trained crew members Reed Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen in visual storytelling techniques to document their lunar journey first-hand, with the footage shown on Nat Geo’s social platforms, amplified by ABC News, and culminating in a documentary later this year.
So, while ABC News will have live coverage from Houston (provided by its ABC affiliate) and from the launch site in Florida, it will also have footage from inside the spacecraft to stand out from the crowded field of competitors.
