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NASA Scrubs Artemis Launch Due To Engine Issues; Pakistan Calls For Global Aid As Flood Impact Millions; Iraqi Protesters Storm Republican Palace In Baghdad. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired August 29, 2022 - 10:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:31]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ukrainian forces are shaping the battlefield in the South for a counter offensive. The aim to liberate

Russian-occupied territory.

A launch 50 years in the making will now have to wait for at least a few more days due to engine issues. We will be live at the Kennedy Space

Center. And.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm flushing our water to retrieve any bedding or anything that is left intact. As you can see, nothing could

be saved.

GIOKOS: Millions of people in Pakistan are being impacted by deadly flooding, what we're learning about the scope and scale of the devastation

coming up.

I'm Eleni Giokos. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. Great to have you with us. Now we begin with fast moving developments in Iraq. Chaos is

erupting in Baghdad's green zone, where hundreds of protesters have stormed the Republican Palace. The office of Iraq's prime minister on government

meetings are on hold in Baghdad, and the Iraqi military has put a full curfew in place and that's until further notice.

The latest wave of violence comes after the powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he is leaving political life for good. CNN's Nada

Bashir is watching these events play out for us. And she joins us now live from London. Nada, these are incredible pictures as we saw protesters

stormed the Republican palace. What are we seeing right now?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, absolutely amazing, Eleni. These are stunning pictures. But of course, this isn't the first time that

we've seen demonstrators breaching Baghdad heavily fortified green zone in the last few weeks. Of course, we've seen these sorts of protests before.

Today, as you mentioned there these demonstrators have breached the green zone and in fact stormed the Republican palace.

Hundreds of protesters there, as you can see. And this follows really weeks of sporadic protests by supporters of the influential Shia cleric Muqtada

al-Sadr. Just Last week we saw his loyalists staging a protest within the green zone outside the building of the supreme judicial council calling for

a complete dissolution of the Iraqi parliament. And for weeks prior to this, we've seen protesters breaching the green zone.

In fact, almost always often staging citizens in Iraq's parliament building in opposition to the nomination of rival (INAUDIBLE) Mohammed Shia al

Sudani for the position of prime minister. But as he laid out there, these protests today have been triggered by that announcement from Muqtada al-

Sadr that he is stepping down from political life. Now, back in June, al- Sadr did announce that he would be withdrawing from politics.

He ordered his more than 70 lawmakers to step down from their positions in response to months of political stagnation. But of course, we continue to

see him playing a part in politics despite vowing not to he encouraged these weeks of protests that we've seen even went so far as to call for a

complete overhaul of the constitutional system in Iraq. Today, however, he has said that this is his final retirement from political life and has

announced that he will be closing all of his political offices across the country.

But while these demonstrations have come in response and support to Muqtada al-Sadr. This really represents a growing sense of tension in Iraqi

politics that we have seen over these months of stagnation and really a wider political rift between Iraq's rival share blocks.

GIOKOS: Yes. It's such a good point, right? Because we've seen political deadlock, basically in Iraq. I want you to give me a sense of how Muqtada

al-Sadr has influenced some of these protests action through what his narrative is now that he will leave political life. By the way, something

that he's said in the past as well.

BASHIR: Well look, Eleni, he has certainly played a hugely influential role in steering these demonstrations that we've seen for the last few weeks.

And of course, in that pretty symbolic move of ordering his 73 lawmakers back in June to step down from their positions as a show of protests really

to these months of political stagnation we've seen. Of course, back in October last year, Muqtada al-Sadr's political bloc actually came out on

top in those elections although falling short or the absolute majority that he needed.

But in these months that have followed those elections, we have seen nothing but political stagnation and this has really frustrated at the

Iraqi politics as a whole. And of course we have seen him directly playing upon and influencing the protests.

[10:05:08]

He has called on his supporters to take to the streets not only in support of his political block and of course in opposition to the nomination of

Mohammed Shia al Sudani for the position of Prime Minister. But he has said this is in response really in protest around corruption in Iraq against the

current state of affairs in the country. And of course, many of the protesters that our teams on the ground have previously spoken to, over the

last month have not only voiced their support for al-Sadr but have also expressed their frustration over the state of the economy over jobs and

unemployment, of course, the real hardship that people are facing across Iraq.

GIOKOS: Nada Bashir, thank you so very much for that update. It is a story that we're going to be watching closely where you see protest, action and

protesters storming the Republican palace in Baghdad in Iraq. We will be covering the story as it happens.

All right. A potential stumbling block remains to reviving the Iran Nuclear Deal. President Ebrahim Raisi is insisting on the closure of an ongoing

IAEA probe before a final agreement is reached. The probe involves unexplained traces of enriched uranium at several Iranian research sites.

Now despite the president's demand, a U.S. spokesperson says his country remains hopeful about reviving the deal after Iran agreed to key

concessions on some major issues.

International inspectors finally we'll have a chance to see what's going on at Europe's largest nuclear facility. The head of the IAEA says a team is

on its way to Zaporizhia and should arrive later this week. The visit comes as fears of a potential nuclear disaster are growing. City officials are

offering people iodine pills in case of a radiation leak.

Meantime, CNN has learned that Ukrainian forces are shaping the battlefield in the south for a counter offensive. CNN Sam Kiley is on the ground in

Zaporizhia.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that an offensive is currently underway in the

south along the southern battlefields predominantly and Mykolaiv and Kherson provinces. And this is because clearly their target is going to be

the city of Kherson which sits not only on the Dnieper, but at the head of a canal supplying water to Crimea which the Ukrainians cut in 2014.

Kherson was among the first targets -- first cities captured by the Russian so it's clearly a very, very important strategic location. This is also a

very important moment for Ukraine. Just over six months into the war. They've been talking a lot about a countering -- counteroffensive. My

colleague Jim Sciutto says that his sources are describing this early stages as what they call the shaping operations going after command and

control systems, air defenses and so on.

But we're also hearing anecdotally on the ground from soldiers that a number of small villages may already have been captured as the Ukrainians

tried to get on the front foot and this war. And all that is coming at a time when the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Station remains itself on the front

line. The United Nations saying that it is hoping to get inspectors into that location with the agreement of the Russians and the Ukrainians in the

next few days.

Sam Kiley, CNN in Zaporizhia.

GIOKOS: All right. The inspector's visit comes amid renewed fighting around the nuclear complex. Russian and Ukrainian officials pointing the finger at

each other after more shelling was reported Sunday in a town about five kilometers from the plant. At least nine people were wounded. And that's

according to a Russian-backed official. That official saying three residential buildings in the area were hit including a courtyard where

there is a kindergarten.

Our senior international correspondent Fred PLeitgen joins us now live from Moscow with the latest. Fred, of course, really encouraging that the IAEA

sending a delegation, but could you give us a sense in terms of what Russian authorities are saying regarding the shelling around the nuclear

plant?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russians, for their part have been blaming it all on the Ukrainians.

Obviously from the Ukrainian side, you hear the exact opposite. The Ukrainians are saying that the Russians are essentially shelling these

areas as a provocation ahead of this visit by the IAEA officials. The Russians for their parts saying it's the Ukrainian military that's been

doing this.

They say that Western howitzers are in part being used. They mentioned the N777 which of course was provided by the United States as being a

responsible for some of the shelling that we're seeing here or the aftermath of which we're seeing here on our screens right now, where they

say that those nine people were wounded, two allegedly in critical condition. So, the Russians are saying that's what's causing a lot of the

issues.

[10:10:02]

And of course not only in this town, that's about six kilometers away from the actual power plant but also in the vicinity of the power plant as well.

In fact, one Russian or Russian-installed official there in that area said that a building on the complex of that power plant was hit by a shell as

well. And the roof there was punctuated. So certainly the Russians are saying that it's the Ukrainians who are responsible for causing that threat

to the power plant.

The Ukrainians For their part, of course, saying the exact opposite. However, what might be a bit of good news actually, Eleni, is the fact that

the Russians also say that they are supporting this mission by the IAEA and that they are going to guarantee the security of the IAEA mission at all

times that that mission is on Russian-controlled territory. Of course, we have the map or we have the map in front of us right now.

And the -- from what we know the IAEA is going to move through Ukrainian territory and at some point going to, of course, have to go to a territory

in Ukraine but that's controlled by Russia. And that, of course, is going to be a really interesting point in that mission to see whether or not all

that goes smoothly is certainly a delicate, very difficult mission and -- but one that both sides have acknowledged extremely important, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much. Now, as you heard earlier in Sam Kiley's reports, Ukrainian forces have begun so called shaping

operations to prepare the battlefield for a significant counter offensive. The U.S. believes the long-anticipated counter offensive in southern

Ukraine will include a combination of air and ground targets. Barbara Starr is following this new development for us from the Pentagon.

Barbara, always good to see you. What do we learned about this counter offensive? We know it is in the south, we know it's going to be a

combination of air and ground forces. I guess, the big question that's on everyone's mind, you know, does the Ukrainian army have enough firepower to

be able to gain back lost territory?

BABARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elni, that of course, is the key question. As Sam Kiley reported a short time ago, U.S. officials

are keeping a very close eye on the Kherson area in southern Ukraine. They believe that that is going to unfold to be the key battlefield perhaps in

this counter offensive as Ukrainian forces do that shaping of the battlefield.

What do we mean by shaping? Well, expect to see Ukraine forces attack Russian command and control, air defense, communications, ammunition

storage facilities, that sort of thing. Anything that could facilitate the Russians, keeping a presence in that area. If they can take out those

Russian targets, it makes it very tough for Russian forces to be able to stay and continue their own military operations in the area.

What we're watching for is to see Russian forces begin to move back into the eastern areas back across some of those river areas further east. So

that would signal potentially that the Ukrainians are having some success in pushing the Russians out. So, the coming days are going to be absolutely

critical to this. The idea is that Ukraine forces with the assistance of the U.S.-supplied weapons and weapons from the allies, especially the

artillery that that will be key and attacking these Russian targets at long range while keeping Ukraine forces safer on the battlefield, because they

can stand off at some distance.

We don't know yet how much Ukraine airpower will be involved. But all of this being watched very closely from Washington all the way through NATO

allied capitals. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes. And it's really good point on the air power because of course, that has been one of the big sort of issues in terms of weapons being

supplied to Ukraine. What do we understand in terms of firepower at the stage? You mentioned that it's through the support of the weaponry that has

been supplied by the U.S. But of course, a lot of the other weapons that Ukraine has been able to accumulate through other sources.

STARR: Well, that's right. And it should be emphasized, allied nations, partners and friends of Ukraine in countries across Europe and especially

in the NATO alliance have really been stepping up and providing their weapons as well. A lot of artillery coming out of European capitals and

being shipped to Ukraine especially the longer range artillery. That is critical because if the Ukrainian forces can stay out of the range of

Russian weapons, fire into these Russian positions from a distance, it makes it much easier for them to survive and to advance against the Russian

forces.

GIOKOS: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you so much for breaking that down for us.

All right. And still ahead. Two U.S. warships move through the Taiwan Strait. What China is saying about this first American transit through the

streets in four years.

Plus, severe flooding and In Pakistan has killed nearly 1100 people including more than 300 children since mid-June.

[10:15:06]

We have the latest on the devastation coming up.

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GUTFELD: Pakistan is pleading for international aid to help prevent further loss of life as the country faces one of its worst climate disasters. So

far, heavy rain and widespread flooding has left nearly 1100 people dead and that's including more than 350 children since mid June. CNN's Anna

Coren has latest on the devastation from this year's monsoon season.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (through translator): A young life hanging in the balance winched across rushing water in Pakistan's

flood soaked Sindh province. Safely off the bedframe, it's an older man's turn. Lucky for some, but these floods have killed over 1000 people since

mid June, including over 350 children according to UNICEF.

ABDULLAH FADIL, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE IN PAKISTAN: This is the calamity of proportions I think Pakistan has not seen. Some of the areas hit are also

some of the most vulnerable areas of the country.

COREN: Pakistan normally goes through three to four monsoon rain cycles each year. It has had eight in that time. And the wet season will drag on

through September. Extreme heat has baked the earth. The rain can't soak in flash flooding comes next.

These satellite images show the Indus River swelling, nowhere for the water to go and few routes to escape it. Highways through central Pakistan have

been cut off, bridges broken as villagers wash away. In the northwest of the country, army choppers rescued desperate people. Another person saved,

others the scramble for the next helicopter.

FADIL: This is a climate crisis. Climate that has been mostly done by richer countries contributing to the -- to the -- to the crisis. And I

think it's time that the world responded to support Pakistan in this time of need.

COHEN: As Pakistan and NGO's appeal for international aid the weather forecast is finally brightening. All are hopeful for a break in the rain, a

chance to further assess the damage. What is immediately obvious, the toll that climate change is taking. Pakistan's relatively low carbon footprint

not enough to save it from the dangers of our warming world.

Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Meteorologist Chad Myers now joins us from CNN Weather Center. Chad, I'm hoping you have some good news for us. I mean, hearing that

report from Anna Coren seeing that local authorities saying that yes, monsoon cycles are normal, but they're more frequent. They're a lot more

aggressive and likely to continue until the end of September. What have you got for us?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think maybe more like the beginning of September which were really around the corner for that.

[10:20:04]

This really -- this monsoon really feels like it's pulling out to me. The models are really shaping up very nicely for the rain to finally stop. Now,

that doesn't help for the rain. It's already on the ground. There are spots there with 1.5 meters of rainfall in this monsoon season, that's a half a

meter more than you should have. This is a significant flood high -- a very high flooding across many areas here across the Indus Valley.

Still high flood to the south without water still has to go up. Now I'm going to take you on a satellite tour here. This is a satellite that looks

for vegetation, and it paints it green. Now it's not always green. But that's what the false color satellite is going to show us. Something else

the false color satellite is going to show us this was last year where the water is, that's the blue. Now we saw the pictures, the water isn't blue

but that's the color that we can show you to where the water really shouldn't be.

This is what the growing area should look like. And it looks underwater. Keep in mind, there are Pakistani floods many years. And the 2010 flood

from the pictures you see today on T.V. The 2010 Flood was almost twice as high. That's the devastation that this country is seeing. No real more

rainfall on the map for us. That's the good news. The rainfall will be to the east and that's as the monsoon finally pulls back into the Indian

Ocean. Eleni?

GIOKOS: All right, Chad, you did have some good news for me. Thank you. Hopefully yes, that that ends quite soon for the people in Pakistan.

All right. Beijing is accusing the U.S. of being provocative and showing off after the U.S. Navy sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on

Sunday. The U.S. military says the void shows America's commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. It was the first such operation by the U.S.

since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island earlier this month. Beijing responded to that trip by launching days of military exercises

around the island.

Let's bring in Will Ripley who's in Taipei. Will, I want to talk about these warships, the significance and importantly China's response to the

U.S. being in the streets at the moment.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a lot of expectation, Eleni, that China would respond in a strong manner, much like

they did after the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to this self- governing democracy where they encircled the island with military drills at a scale that we had never seen up until that weekend. And it went beyond

the weekend. Those rills lasting for several days.

So when the United States sent to cruisers, not one but two through the Taiwan Strait, the first time that they've done that in at least four

years. A lot of analysts were expecting something, some sort of reaction from China. Whether it'd be deploying their own warships or fighters. That

has not happened. And not only have we not seen any Chinese military activity in terms of hardware, even the rhetoric is relatively muted which

is surprising a lot of people.

Even the Global Times which is one of, you know, Chinese state media's most sensational tabloids said this didn't actually pose a threat to the Chinese

mainland. China has claimed the Taiwan Strait as its own internal waters for quite some time, but the U.S. and others, they do not buy that. They

say according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, these are international waters.

And they say they will conduct this freedom of navigation patrols through international waters to support as you said, they're a free and open Indo-

Pacific region. So now the question is, OK, so if Beijing is not responding to that, well, then why? Is it that they are fearful of international

blowback after their provocative military activities near Taiwan?

Or could it be that they know that because they cut off key communications channels with the United States military after the Pelosi visit, that if

their warships did come close to the United States, there can be a really high risk of some sort of a misunderstanding without that clear open line

of communication between the two.

GIOKOS: Exactly right. And we were always worried about a potential accident while China was saying it was ready to float to any provocation.

And actually to the lead up to Nancy Pelosi's trip, it was incredible to hear the rhetoric out of China, a far more muted response here. And as you

say, you know, the question then becomes, why? Does this mean that China is backing down? Because perhaps that's the signal that it's sending in some

ways and that's how some people are reading into this?

RIPLEY: Yes. Well -- and the thing is, you know, because China never really overtly states its intentions publicly and there's almost no transparency

when it comes to decision making at the government or military level. We simply have to kind of observe and try to read the tea leaves, if you will.

You know, we do know that Xi Jinping, the Chinese president is, you know, in the final stretch of a very important political gathering which will

essentially cement his status as China's most powerful leader since Mao.

[10:25:08]

Giving him an unprecedented third term and potentially paving the way for a presidency for life for Xi Jinping. He wants everything to be calm, he

wants everything to be under control. Nancy Pelosi's visit was really a slap in the face from the Chinese perspective because to have such a high

level us politician on an island that Xi Jinping has vowed to reabsorb into Mainland China by force if necessary it felt almost like they had to do

something to respond.

Perhaps these freedom of navigation patrols which are far more routine are not going to elicit that same kind of response, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Will Ripley, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

All right. Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. Some of the most violent clashes in two years erupted in

Libya's capital of Tripoli over the weekend. Rival militias controlled by competing governments exchanged intense gunfire. There were several

explosions. Now at least 32 people were killed and more than 150 injured.

Colombia's new ambassador to Venezuela arrived in Caracas Sunday to reestablish bilateral relations between the two countries. Colombia and

Venezuela cut diplomatic ties in 2019 when then Colombian President Ivan Duque recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim

president.

Two Air France pilots are suspended after a physical in-flight altercation in the cockpit. It happened on a flight from Geneva to Paris back in June.

The airline says the incident was quickly resolved and didn't interrupt the safety of the flight. The situation is still under investigation.

And just ahead. Planned on pause. NASA's next generation mega rocket is still sitting on the launch pad instead of heading for the moon. We'll tell

you why next.

And some controversial comments from Brazil's president as a closely watched presidential debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Now more on our top story. The chaos in Baghdad's green

zone where hundreds of protesters have stormed the Republican palace. That's the office of the Iraqi prime minister. We have a new video to show

you. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[10:30:16]

GIOKOS: All right. So you can hear what sounds like gunfire of protesters there out on the streets. And the latest wave of violence comes after the

powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he is leaving political life for good. The Iraqi military has put a full curfew in place. And

that's until further notice. This is a developing story, and we will be keeping a close eye on images coming out of Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

All right. It's already been a tough day for NASA. And here's why. You're looking at Artemis 1. Parts of NASA's program to send humans back to the

lunar surface. But this rocket won't be leaving the launch pad today, as had been planned. The space agency had to scrub the lift off a short time

ago over some pre-launch issues. I've got the best in the industry. Joining me now is CNN aviation analyst and science correspondent for PBS news hour

Miles O'Brien standing by.

CNN's innovation and space correspondent Rachel Crane live from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Great to see you. Rachel, I want to start with

you. I know that you guys have been sitting on the edge of your seats hoping that this launch would happen. It hasn't. Could you take us through?

Why what went wrong?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, you know, that's the big question right now. We know that there was an issue

with engine number three. Now these are R.S-25 engines are actually reused from the shuttle program. And our engine number three had already flown six

times. So, I know using used hardware sounds kind of weird, but in space is actually quite normal.

And there's something to be said about having flight proven hardware. So we know that there was a temperature issue with the engine. NASA tried several

times to troubleshoot it. And they weren't able to know. We don't know exactly the nature of the issue with the engine. We're hoping to learn that

when NASA has a press conference in just a few hours from now. But that's the big question here. What exactly is it? Because if it's a major

technical issue.

There's the possibility that they would have to wheel the vehicle off the Launch Pad 39B and back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to troubleshoot

that issue, which would then delay this launch considerably. Whereas right now, NASA has a backup launch Windows set for Friday and a backup to the

backup for Monday. So everyone here at this space goes while we're all, you know, disappointed scrubs in the space world are typical.

I know Miles has been at many launches, where that has happened. I myself have been at many scrubs too. And, you know, important to remember this was

all just a test launch. So NASA needs to get this right as Bill Nelson said, they're not going to fly before it's right. That's because they all

intend to -- they've been tend to have a crew onboard this vehicle. This vehicle behind me has never flown before.

And several rehearsals leading up to today's potential launch didn't exactly go as planned. So there's been many problems throughout the history

of this program, let alone just today, Eleni. So, you know, as if we're not, we're all a little disappointed here. But it's sort of par for the

course when it comes to the space world. And when you're talking about a rocket that's never flown before, we all knew going into the -- there was a

pretty high likelihood that there would be some issue and we wouldn't have liftoff today.

GIOKOS: Yes. And we've had these kinds of delays before, you know, whether it's in the private sector or, you know, with NASA but Miles, I want to

bring you in here. Engine three, right? That's the problem. This is repurposed hardware from, you know, previous mission. I want you to give me

a sense of, you know, the importance of this mission as a whole. You know, as Rachel says, we don't really know whether they can troubleshoot this.

There's so many variables that go into a launch of this nature, but it's an important test run because it is -- it's a practice run for -- when you

actually have humans on board and when you actually go for the real deal.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes, Eleni. And you have to remember the extremes that we're dealing with here. Hydrogen is a wonderful rocket

fuel, but hydrogen is also the lightest element. So it's very difficult to keep it from leaking first and foremost. Secondly, when you chill it down

into liquid form to put it in that tank, it's the coldest substance that we know of on the planet.

So -- and then it gets lit and thousands and thousands of degrees. So the amount of extremes that this engine encounters are kind of hard to fathom.

And so, it's very common and throughout the history of the shuttle program and bear in mind, this is a shuttle engine that has flown. The engines have

come flown I think a combined 25 missions. We were bedeviled by hydrogen leaks and problems.

[10:35:07]

The cold temperatures can freeze flanges and valves. The leaks are a consistent problem. And this, once again, are the problems that are

bedeviling the Space Launch System in their dress rehearsals. And now today as they attempted to launch, once again, plumbing is the key.

GIOKOS: Could you give me a sense of how important, Miles this mission actually is setting up a permanent base on the moon? What would that mean?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we went to the moon, the United States went to the moon about 50 years ago, it was a sprint to beat the Russians in the middle

of the Cold War, there was nothing sustainable about that. A lot of people who love space, wished we could have stayed in space, but we didn't have

the infrastructure to do it. So here we are 50 years later after we spent some time on the shuttle program and it's taken a long time to get to this

point.

The idea now is to set up an encampment there. And not just -- not just to stop at the moon, but to learn how to live on a surface like that. Operate

and do work and move on to Mars eventually.

GIOKOS: Yes. So amoeba I think Rachel and some yeast and sorts of other primitive life forms hitchhiking to the moon. Take us through what would be

on this -- on this rocket.

CRANE: Well, when this thing eventually takes off, you know, as we were pointing out, this is an uncrewed test launch. But, you know, there's a lot

of room in that trunk. So why not throw some science in there, you know, get the biggest bang for your buck, you can with this thing, especially

when each launch of SLS costs $4.1 billion. So let's make the most of it and NASA certainly intends to. There's 10 cube sats on board.

Now cube sats are these mini satellites, they weigh about 25 pounds. And it's not just NASA that is behind some of these missions. It's also

students around the country, around the world. One particular CubeSat that I really I'm excited about is one from the Japanese space. Japanese Space

Agency rather JAXA, and they're trying to make a hard landing on the moon with one of their cube sats. Another one, as he pointed out, has single

cell yeast on it.

And that's going to measure how that organism withstands the radiation in deep space. Also, inside the capsule, there's a whole other host of science

that's being conducted including one on Moonikin Campos. That's a mannequin that were that's wearing all kinds of sensors to measure radiation,

vibration, acoustics. Another special vest called the AstroRad vest is on another mannequin inside the capsule to measure how well that protects the

mannequin from radiation.

So as I said, a whole host of science is sort of hitching a ride whenever this thing takes off to space to give us more insight into a deep space,

Eleni.

GIOKOS: Very cool stuff. Yes. We hope that actually happens in the next few days. We'll be keeping a close watch. Thank you so very much, Miles and

Rachel. Good to see you. All right. And still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. A highly anticipated presidential debate in Brazil. What the two main

candidates are saying to voters just weeks ahead of the election.

Plus, Serena star lifts the tennis courts for two decades. And New York is ready to celebrate her achievements in style.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:50]

GIOKOS: Brazil's presidential election season is now in full swing. Ad on Sunday night, the combative first debate took place in Sao Paulo. Every

candidate participates in but of course all eyes were on the current and former president who's seeking to return to his old jobs. Stefano Pozzebon

has the details.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a debate that almost didn't happen with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro confirming his presence only

hours before the broadcast began. Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were joined by four other candidates to discuss the

economy, the response to the COVID 19 pandemic and the environment.

Lula was questioned about the series of corruption scandals that took place while he was president between 2003 and 2010. And he defended his record in

power saying that millions are so their living conditions improve while he was president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): You say you didn't see those changes I'm talking of, well,

your driver saw them. Your gardener saw them. Your cleaning lady saw them, go ask her. She saw this country doing better. She saw her child could

answer a universally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Bolsonaro instead went on the attack, saying that the Brazilian economy is faring much better than other countries in the region and

personally attacking local journalist Vera Magalhaes after she asked him a question about vaccination rates. All the other candidates expressed

solidarity with the journalist Magalhaes. But with little over a month before the first round of the Brazilian election on October II, the race

already seems a two-way affair between Lula and Bolsonaro.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

GIOKOS: It is going to be an emotional day in New York. One of the greatest names in tennis we'll walk on the core to maybe -- just maybe for the last

time in competition. She's thrilled the audiences for two decades. And it's impossible to describe her impacts on a generation of women players. World

Sports anchor Amanda Davis joins me now. I mean, could this be it, Amanda? Could this be the goodbye for Serena?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Eleni, at the moment, we know that every match could be it Serena and her sister Venus have been given a wild

card into the doubles event are expected to be taking to court later this week at Flushing Meadows. But for somebody who said she's not one for grand

ceremonial farewells, that is what Serena is going to be getting over the next few days at Flushing Meadows.

The tournament is already underway. Players are already on the courts but there is one name on everybody's lips. All eyes will be on the (INAUDIBLE)

at 7:00 p.m. New York Time. Midnight here in the U.K. as she to court for what could be the last time as a -- as a single player out of Grand Slam.

GIOKOS: Well, whether she wants it or not, she definitely deserves a grand farewell. Amanda, thank you so much. We'll see you after the break. And

more CONNECT THE WORLD at the top of the hour. Stay with CNN.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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