DC’s Newest Museum Tells Tale Of National Geographic’s Tragic Fall From Patriot Explorers To Globalism Activists
The exhibit room openly stated that the purpose of National Geographic had changed as Americans became more climate-focused.The exhibit room openly stated that the purpose of National Geographic had changed as Americans became more climate-focused.WATCH: Trump tells moon-looping Artemis astronauts what's next in out-of-this-world phone call
The Artemis II crew made history on Monday, putting more distance — 252,756 miles — between themselves and Earth than any previous human spaceflight. The previous record, 248,655 miles, was set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen looped around the moon in their Orion spacecraft, flying as close as 4,070 miles on one approach and losing signal for roughly 40 minutes while passing behind the celestial body.
'We'll establish a permanent presence.'
In addition to breaking the distance record for human spaceflight and making "impactful science observations" of the far side of the moon, NASA said the crew also took a moment to "provisionally name" a couple of lunar craters.
As the Artemis II crew began their voyage back to Earth, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman notified them that they had a call waiting.
"A very special hello to Artemis II," said President Donald Trump. "Today, you've made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud. We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but this is — there's nothing like what you're doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than a half a century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from Planet Earth."
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Trump also informed Hansen that his countrymen are proud of him, stating, "I spoke to your prime minister and many other friends I have in Canada. They are so proud of you."
Emphasizing that America is a "frontier nation" and that the Artemis II crew are "modern-day pioneers," the president noted that while such journeys are rare, "It's going to be more and more prevalent because we're going to be doing a lot of ... traveling, and then you're going to ultimately do the whole big trip to Mars."
Trump said that the Artemis II mission sets the stage for a return to the lunar surface "very soon," adding that "this time, we won't just leave footprints; we'll establish a permanent presence on the moon."
Commander Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native, told Trump that his call was "certainly special to all of us."
Wiseman noted that two unforgettable parts of their journey were watching a solar eclipse and glimpsing Mars: "All of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species."
Koch said her top highlight was seeing Earth again after passing around the far side of the moon.
"It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation ... to lead and not follow in exploring deep space," said Koch.
The president said he plans to invite the astronauts to the White House after their return and to ask them for their autographs.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!India nails lunar landing, becoming first nation to park a spacecraft on moon's south pole
India became the fourth nation to pull off a successful soft lunar landing and the first to park in one piece on the moon's south pole Wednesday.
The Indian Space Research Organization set down the Chandrayaan-3 without incident — unlike Russia, whose unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft "ceased to exist as a result" of its Aug. 19 collision.
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The Indian vessel landed around 8:30 a.m. ET in a region of great interest to scientists where ice resides in permanently shadowed craters, reported the Washington Post.
Ian Whittaker, a senior lecturer in physics at Nottingham Trent University, told Al Jazeera that the Chandrayaan-3's landing opens up possibilities for future lunar bases.
"Landing on the south pole, or near the south pole area, is actually really important because it’s the sort of area we’d be looking for a lunar base," said Whittaker. "There’s water there, which was one of the findings of Chandrayaan-1. This water can be used for a lot of things. We could also look for building materials."
Knowledge of the presence of water on the moon was resultant, in part, from a NASA instrument carried by one of Chandrayaan-3's predecessors, which had detected hydroxyl hidden in the lunar shade, reported the BBC.
That predecessor, the Chandrayaan-1, crash-landed on the moon on Nov. 14, 2008, near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.
The sequel, Chandrayaan-2, managed to enter the lunar orbit in August 2019 but deviated from its intended trajectory owing to a software glitch and crashed.
The ISRO confirmed Tuesday that the Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, was on schedule and "smooth sailing is continuing," reported CNN.
That smooth sailing was caught on film:
Watch: The moon's surface from India's lunar probe at it flies to landing zoneyoutu.be
The entire mission cost $75 million, less than half of what Russia's Luna-25 cost to blow to smithereens and roughly equivalent to the unit cost of five F-16A/B jet fighters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who joined some of his nation's 1.42 billion souls remotely from the BRICS summit in South Africa, said, "My dear family, when we see history being made in front of us, it makes our life blessed. ... This moment is the announcement of an advanced India. These moments are of invention and phenomenal growth. ... We had taken a pledge on earth and realized it on the moon."
The prime minister added, "This success belongs to all of humanity."
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated India on doing what American pulled off with a manned crew and basic computers 54 years ago, writing, "Congratulations ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We're glad to be your partner on this mission.
Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, stated, "What a way to demonstrate new technologies and achieve India’s first soft landing on another celestial body. ... Well done. I am thoroughly impressed."
The Kremlin also commended India on its success, stating, "This is a big step forward in space exploration and, of course, a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the field of science and technology."
Once the dust settles around the spacecraft, which will apparently take hours, Pragyaan, a rover aboard the vessel, will exit the Chandrayaan-2 and commence its moon walk at a breakneck pace of 0.39 inches per second.
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