‘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 mission crew have described the first view of the Moon’s far side as a breathtaking experience. The astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency member Jeremy Hansen—are in their third day aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is orbiting the Moon before returning to Earth. Koch reflected,
“Something about this view feels unfamiliar, like a different Moon altogether.”
NASA highlighted that the crew captured an image of the Orientale basin, marking the first time the entire structure has been observed by human eyes. As of 23:00 BST on Saturday, the spacecraft was over 180,000 miles (289,681km) from Earth, according to the agency’s tracking dashboard.
Protests and Political Reactions
Meanwhile, large demonstrations against the Trump administration occurred in cities nationwide, highlighting the third No Kings rally. The BBC’s Ione Wells reported on the sentiment among protesters and attendees outside the Supreme Court during a hearing on Trump’s executive order. In contrast, conservatives at the CPAC conference in Texas expressed mixed views about the current economic climate.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to US airports to support TSA during a partial government shutdown, which also caused some of the longest delays at the nation’s busiest airports. A refinery operator, Valero, confirmed to the BBC’s US news partner CBS that no injuries were reported in the incident involving a passenger plane and a firefighting vehicle on the New York airport’s runway.
Collisions and Investigations
BBC Verify detailed the moments leading to a deadly collision between a fire truck and a plane at the New York airport. The wreckage temporarily blocked access to one of the two runways. The robot accompanying First Lady Melania Trump at the White House was also part of the scene, while Trump hosted a summit on AI, education, and safeguarding children in digital environments.
A separate incident saw the yellow Labrador Retriever named Tessie unharmed after a fall and subsequent rescue, returning to her yard as crews filled in a sinkhole. The same day, a Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and Google intentionally designed addictive social media platforms, which could negatively impact young people’s mental health.
Personal Accounts and Cultural Critiques
In her first interview since her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie recounted the moment she learned of her mother’s fate and considered whether her fame might have made her a target. Meanwhile, an installation titled “A throne fit for a king” was displayed at the National Mall, serving as a critique of Trump’s White House renovation efforts.
The province’s secularism law, Bill 21, faces a constitutional challenge in Canada, with some Muslim women asserting they have borne the greatest cost of the policy. An Air Canada flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew initially landed safely from Montreal before colliding with a firefighting vehicle, raising concerns about safety during the ongoing government shutdown.
The former prosecutor, who represented Trump in the hush-money case, has maintained a close relationship with the president. The BBC’s Gary O’Donoghue spoke with a farmer in Alabama, who, despite financial struggles, continues to back Trump’s leadership.
