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: NASA's Artemis II astronauts have debuted the mission patch for their trip around the moon. The insignia has elements that reference the first humans to enter lunar orbit in 1968, as well as the efforts that will come after Artemis II, to establish a presence on the moon and send astronauts to Mars. Crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen chose to abbreviate Artemis II to AII on the patch as an honor to all.
: Fram, the world's first vessel to have been used extensively in both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, including the first to reach the South Pole, is now on another Earth-spanning journey, or at least a part of it is. A segment of the ship's wooden deck, which reached both poles in 1911 and 1926, is now on board Fram2, the first human spaceflight in polar orbit. The crew (and block) are passing over the North or South pole every 46 minutes.
: How much would an Apollo moon rock be worth if it was made out of cheese? That question, among others, is (indirectly) addressed in "When the Moon Hits Your Eye," the new novel by John Scalzi. Avoiding spoilers, the story unfolds over a complete lunar cycle as a cast of characters ranging from astronauts to churchgoers react to the change. In our interview, Scalzi revealed where to find him as the moon turned into cheese.
: Mattel has a lot to be proud of given its history of showing girls that they could be anything — even an astronaut — when the opportunities to do so were just emerging, if not years away. So it is not surprising to see the toy company reissue its original 1965 Miss Astronaut as a 60th anniversary collectible. But while boasting about its own history, the description on the doll's box seems to forget when humans first flew in space.
: After falsely being described as being "stuck" in space, Boeing's Starliner crewmates Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have returned to Earth, splashing down with Crew-9 members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov on SpaceX's Crew Dragon "Freedom." The four wrapped 170 days together aboard the International Space Station, with Williams and Wilmore completing an extended 286-day (in total) stay, completing 4,576 trips around Earth.
: Having launched from Earth on a mission to spend six months aboard the International Space Station, Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers of NASA, Takuya Onishi of JAXA and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos had "Droog," a crocheted origami crane, with them to signal the start of their journey. The SpaceX Crew-10 zero-g indicator was chosen to represent the four astronauts' common traits and symbolize their shared hope for continued cooperation.
: Although it was only briefly seen during SpaceX's live webcast of the launch, the Fram2 mission's zero-gravity indicator was instantly recognizable: a polar bear for the first human spaceflight to fly into polar orbit around Earth. The doll, however, had more to it than being shaped after the arctic carnivore; it also has the image of an emperor penguin embroidered on its chest, as a nod to flying over Antarctica and the South Pole, as well.
: The astronauts are now not the only group at NASA with a jacket of their own. The flight directors office has designed a coat to help the public recognize them and more importantly, become more familiar with their role. Made by Luna Replicas for past and current flight directors only, the nylon jacket gets its blue and gold colors from the office logo and has a place for a name tag with the wearer's team name and, if desired, flight director number.
: From a "sky painting" about a spent satellite to an astronaut's tales about walking on the moon, a dance performance inspired by a NASA "hidden figure" to a talk about space food over drinks, the "EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky" festival is set to blast off at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The nation's cultural hub will spend three weeks starting Friday (Mar. 28) looking at how space exploration affects our lives.
: The Science Museum in London is closing its almost 40-year-old Exploring Space gallery to establish a new Space gallery opening this fall. Items like the Sokol suit worn by the first Briton to launch into space and the Soyuz capsule used to land UK's first professional astronaut are going off display by June 2, along with Apollo 10, NASA's only command module to fly to the moon and be on display outside of the United States.
: The audience at the world premiere of "Apollo 1" gave Martha and Sheryl Chaffee a standing ovation as they came on stage with director Mark Craig at the Boulder International Film Festival in Colorado on Saturday (March 15). The documentary tells the story of Roger Chaffee and his two crewmates, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White II, who died after a fire erupted in their spacecraft during a test on the launch pad.
: You can use your smartphone to capture a total lunar eclipse and a limited edition drink. Capri Sun is rolling out its new flavor, "Moon Punch," in a collectible, glow-in-the-dark pouch by inviting its fans to snap a photo of the eclipse that will be visible from most of North America on Wednesday night (March 13). There are eight pouch designs, each depicting a moon phase. Moon Punch will also be sold by Amazon, Walmart, Target and Kroger.
Upcoming space events:
Festival [03/28 - 04/13] Earth to Space Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
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