Mercer Grad Brought Artemis II to 10 Million Netflix Viewers

When NASA's Artemis II crew rocketed toward the moon on April 1, Katie Konans felt the launch vibrate through her chest before she heard the roar. But her biggest achievement wasn't standing on that Florida launchpad—it was making sure millions of people who'd never think to watch a rocket launch got to experience that same awe from their couches.

The Mercer University graduate helped NASA's live coverage reach streaming platforms like Netflix, where it climbed into the top 10 most-watched content. For 10 days in April, the mission became appointment viewing for people scrolling past their usual shows, introducing a whole new audience to space exploration.

Konans graduated from Mercer in 2019 with a journalism degree and joined NASA full time that same year. She's spent eight years shaping how the space agency tells its stories, focusing on reaching people who don't follow NASA or even realize it still exists.

That mission became personal early in her career when she met a small-town reporter who thought NASA disappeared after the space shuttle program ended. "I always think about that person, and so I really work to meet people where they are," she said.

For Artemis II, meeting people where they are meant focusing on the astronauts themselves. Konans and her team spent nearly two years conducting in-depth interviews with the four-person crew, capturing not just their excitement but their fears about leaving families for 10 days in one of the most dangerous environments humans can enter.

Those conversations became the foundation for NASA's Artemis II Podcast and the official broadcast. The content highlighted what Konans calls the real story: why humans keep pushing boundaries, what drives innovation, and what people sacrifice to explore the unknown.

The Ripple Effect

Konans launched NASA's flagship podcast "Curious Universe" in 2020 and developed the agency's entire audio storytelling strategy. Her work has earned her the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal, multiple Webby Awards, and a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Media list in 2023.

But the numbers tell an even bigger story. By distributing NASA content to editorial partners and streaming platforms, she's transforming space exploration from niche content into mainstream culture.

Her approach combines journalism, media studies, and graphic design—exactly what she studied at Mercer's Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism. "We can't separate the story from how it's packaged anymore," she explained. "They're one and the same."

That training prepared her for a media landscape where the right story on the right platform can turn a 10-day scientific mission into a cultural moment that reaches people scrolling through Netflix on a Monday night.

Now NASA doesn't just document history—it creates content that competes with the biggest names in streaming, making space exploration accessible to anyone curious enough to click.