https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2026/04/04/artemis-astronauts-prepare-for-historic-lunar-flyby_6752123_10.htmlThe Artemis astronauts have taken in sights of the Moon never before seen by human eyes, crew members reported on Sunday, April 4, as their spacecraft crossed the two-thirds mark on their journey to a long-anticipated lunar flyby. As the astronauts went to bed in the early hours of Sunday, closing out the fourth day of their 10-day mission, they were nearly 321,869 kilometers from Earth and 82,000 miles from the Moon, according to NASA's online dashboard.The US space agency published on Sunday an image taken by the Artemis crew, showing a distant Moon with the Orientale basin visible. "This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes," NASA said. The massive crater, which resembles a bullseye, had been photographed before by orbiting cameras.Speaking to Canadian children live from space, astronaut Christina Koch said the crew was most excited to see the basin – sometimes known as the Moon's "Grand Canyon." "It's very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today, really, when we were privileged enough to see it," Koch said during the question-and-answer session hosted by the Canadian Space Agency.The next major milestone is expected overnight Sunday into Monday, at which point the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence," where the Moon's gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's.If all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the Moon the astronauts – Americans Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen – could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyze and photograph during their time circling the Moon. Earlier, the astronauts kicked off their day with a meal that included scrambled eggs and coffee, NASA said, and had woken up to the tune of Chappell Roan's pop smash "Pink Pony Club.""Morale is high on board," commander Reid Wiseman told Houston's Mission Control center as the space crew's work day began. The father of two girls was in high spirits in part because he had the chance to speak with his daughters from space. "We're up here, we're so far away, and for a moment, I was reunited with my little family," he told a live press conference. "It was just the greatest moment of my entire life." It's a feat Wiseman has dubbed "Herculean" and which humanity has not accomplished in more than half-a-century.The astronauts have had geology training in order to be able to photograph and describe lunar features, including ancient lava flows and impact craters. They'll see the Moon from a unique vantage point compared with the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. Apollo flights flew some 70 miles above the lunar surface, but the Artemis 2 crew will be just over 4,000 miles at their closest approach, which will allow them to see the complete, circular surface of the Moon, including regions near both poles.
The Artemis 2 astronauts have already seen brand-new perspectives. "Last night, we did have our first view of the Moon's far side, and it was just absolutely spectacular," Koch, the mission specialist, said during a live interview from space.John Honeycutt, manager of NASA's Space Launch System program, shared at a briefing Saturday a new image transmitted by the astronauts. "On the far left, you can see features of the Moon that have never been seen by human eyes until yesterday," Honeycutt said, explaining that only robotic imagers had previously "seen" that region.The Artemis 2 crew has been busy taking photographs including with smartphones, devices NASA recently approved to take aboard spaceflights. The space agency had previously released images from Orion that included a full portrait of Earth, featuring its deep blue oceans and billowing clouds.The Artemis 2 mission is part of a longer-term plan to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent lunar base that will offer a platform for further exploration. It's a highly anticipated journey that demands exacting precision – but there's still room for the astronauts to live out their childhood dreams of spaceflight. "It just makes me feel like a little kid," said Hansen recently, describing the joy of floating.
So I'm assuming moon landing deniers just say this one is completely fake aswell? They have to, in order to be consistent, tight? Since one of their talking points has always been about the deadly space radiation.
>>1503768Conspiratards are experts at goalpost moving and evidence inversion. Any effort made to disabuse them of their notions will simply drive them further into their fantasies because they genuinely believe that any pushback against their beliefs proves that they're actually in the right.
>>1503777Unfortunately I'm well aware.As a teenager and young adult I used to buy into some very wacky shit and I have family members who still do.So I can related to how personal some of these theories are to those people, and how they might see it as a personal attack if encountering evidence contradicting their view. Changing your mind and admitting (even to yourself) that you were wrong about something, especially something you were passionate about, is hard.Then again maybe I never was too deep down the hole, since what got me out of it was just getting educated and exposure to evidence that contradicted the conspiracies.
>>1503768>Since one of their talking points has always been about the deadly space radiation.Nigga knows so little about conspiracies that he can't even stereotype us correctly.I'll spoonfeed you: The Moon "rang like a bell" for over an hour following Apollo 12 impact tests in 1969 according to NASA. The moon isn't what you think it is.
>>1503783this nigga doesn’t know the difference between similes and metaphors
This mission has given me the courage to explore the dark side of my moon. I'm going to use my cell phone to transmit video of my anus to my laptop
>>1503784The important takeaway is that it rang for over an hour anon. Not whatever you think happened.
>>1503787And NASA never picked up?
>>1503788NASA is the primary source for this information, retard.
>>1503789>NASA never picked up because they knew it was ringingWhats it like being that low IQ?
>>1503791Spend time with your family this Easter anon. Do literally anything else than wasting your finite time here.
>>1503793ring ring
>>1503783Here, read this. It explains in terms that even an idiot like you can understand about what they meant by 'rang like a bell'. (spoiler, the Earths earthquake vibrations are quickly absorbed by the liquid core, the oceans and atmosphere, while the moon, lacking such things tends to vibrate from vibrations much longer. Try it, ring a bell in an out of water)https://www.michelegargiulo.com/blog/when-the-moon-rang-like-a-bell
>>1503698Two penis shaped clouds. It'll make history.
>>1503768Pretty easy to make it look fake though these days.
>>1503835>lacking such things tends to vibrate from vibrations much longerBells make a distinct ringing sound because they are hollow anon. You're not ready to talk about what purpose the moon actually serves.
>>1503845Hence it's even easier for those kinds of clowns to call it fake without evidence and thinking they're super smart.
>>1503849Even so people are already doing this on twitter mostly and exposing the lies and le derp trying not to lose perception on the reality. Whatever that is anymore loo. Central casting.
>>1503846>Gives the actual explanation>"Uh but the moon being hollow actually makes much more sense then this even though something behind hollow doesn't mean it would ring"
>>1503893>>hurrr, scientists saying bells ring means the moon is hollow>...Tuning Forks ring? >>Stupid libs, only bells ring!Its morons all the way down
I don’t know man it could be hollow but so what
>>1503893>actual explanationAll conspiracy theories are true.
>>1503893Plato cave is not complex concept and not hard to understand, but not for you
>>1503955>Guys don't just believe in what others tell you>Believe in my explanation for something I haven't studied and haven't experienced for myselfYeah unless you've been to the fucking moon I think you can shut the fuck up.
>>1503970>guys my television told me this is real, why wouldn't it be real?>fucking conspiracy theorist cooks! how dare they question my television!
>>1504024Anon you're literally insisting you know more about what someone said about their experience visiting the moon than the actual person who visited the moon.
>>1503846Quadranium Battle Armor is too dense to ring, you sperg.
>>1504025I'm calling you retarded for being unable to question what you've been told by people you've never met, have a long history of lying, and are totally unaccountable for their actions.
>>1504054>I'm calling you retarded for being unable to question what you've been told by people you've never met, have a long history of lying, and are totally unaccountable for their actions.And this doesn't describe you how? I can trust science. I can trust occam's razor. I can't trust your bullshit claim the moon is hollow based on personal headcanon and misinterpreting one remark from a moon mission.
