‘Absolutely spectacular’: Artemis II crew see first glimpse of far side of Moon
‘Absolutely spectacular’: Artemis II crew see first glimpse of far side of Moon
NASA’s Artemis II team members have shared their experience of glimpsing the Moon’s far side for the first time. The mission, which involves astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency representative Jeremy Hansen, is entering its third day aboard the Orion spacecraft. Their journey will eventually circle the Moon’s uncharted side before returning to Earth.
“Something about you senses that is not the Moon I’m used to seeing,” Koch remarked.
During their orbit, the crew captured an image of the Orientale basin, a lunar feature that NASA highlighted as the first to be viewed by human eyes in its entirety. As of 23:00 BST on Saturday, the spacecraft was over 180,000 miles (289,681km) from Earth, according to NASA’s monitoring system.
Far Side of the Moon: A New Perspective
While the Artemis II crew focused on their space mission, other events unfolded on the ground. At the annual ‘Great Marshmallow Drop’, over 15,000 soft treats were dropped from a helicopter, drawing children eager to collect them. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court faced a challenge regarding Canada’s secularism law, Bill 21, which some Muslim women claimed imposed significant personal costs.
The BBC’s Ione Wells interviewed attendees and protesters outside the Supreme Court during a hearing on President Trump’s executive order. Meanwhile, in Alabama, a farmer expressed continued support for the former president despite economic difficulties. The average gas price in the U.S. hit $4, a level not seen since 2022, due to rising fuel costs from the ongoing Iran conflict.
Trump’s Influence and Public Response
Large demonstrations against the Trump administration occurred across U.S. cities, featuring the third No Kings rally. The former prosecutor, who worked with Trump on a hush-money case, has maintained a close connection with the president. At CPAC in Texas, conservatives were divided on the state of the economy, as reported by the BBC’s Gary O’Donoghue.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to support TSA during a partial government shutdown, causing record delays at the airport. The wreckage from a runway collision blocked access to one of two runways at New York City’s busy airport. A robot joined First Lady Melania Trump at the White House, while Trump hosted a summit on AI, education, and child safety in digital environments.
Incidents and Reactions
BBC Verify analyzed the moments leading to a deadly fire truck collision at the New York airport. A passenger plane from Air Canada, carrying 72 people, landed safely in Montreal before striking a firefighting vehicle. The yellow Labrador Retriever, Tessie, suffered no injuries during the incident and was found back in her yard after crews repaired the sinkhole.
Reactions to the LA jury’s ruling, which found Meta and Google designed addictive platforms harming youth mental health, followed the Supreme Court’s hearing. Savannah Guthrie, in her first interview since her mother’s disappearance, recounted the moment she realized her mother was missing and considered whether her fame contributed to the situation.
