'Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far side

HOUSTON — The Artemis II astronauts are now more than halfwayto the moonand have caught their first glimpses of the lunar far side.

In an interview with NBC News from space, NASA astronaut Christina Koch described seeing the moon out the window of the Orion capsule and realizing that it looked different from what she was accustomed to on Earth.

“The darker parts just aren’t quite in the right place,” she said. “And something about you senses that is not the moon that I’m used to seeing.”

Koch said thatshe and her crewmates, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, compared their views to their study materials to understand what they were seeing.

“That is the dark side. That is something we have never seen before,” Koch said.

Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen launched Wednesday on a 10-day trip around the moon, becomingthe first people to embark on a lunar mission in more than 50 years. The astronauts were also the first humans to lift off aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. They have been officially moon-bound since Thursday evening, when the spacecraft conducted a key engine burn that boosted the capsule out of Earth’s orbit.

Wiseman called the flight a “magnificent accomplishment" and said the astronauts’ ability to gaze at both Earth and the moon from their spacecraft has been “truly awe-inspiring.”

“The Earth is almost in full eclipse. The moon is almost in full daylight, and the only way you could get that view is to be halfway between the two entities,” he said.

Koch added that while the astronauts are excited, they have been able to rest and sleep comfortably in their16.5-foot-wide Orion capsule, which has a habitable volume roughly equivalent to a camper van.

Sleep is one of various human concerns that inherently occupy their days while journeying through the cosmos.

“Being human up here is one of the coolest things about this mission,” Koch said. “We are just people trying to get by. For example, we might go look at the far side of the moon and take in its awesomeness, and then go, 'Hm, maybe I should change my socks,' and try to dig around for a pair of socks. So this is the dichotomy of human spaceflight.”

The four astronauts had time Friday and Saturday to talk to their family members, which Wiseman said was a major highlight.

“It was surreal,” he said. “For a moment, I was reunited with my little family. It was just the greatest moment of my entire life.”

Since reaching space, the Artemis II crew has been busy. In the first hours after they lifted off, they began to test the various life-support systems aboard the Orion capsule. The astronauts had to troubleshoot several issues, including email glitches andproblems with their onboard space toilet, but have said the flight has been smooth overall.

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At 12:41 a.m. ET Monday, the astronauts are expected to enter the lunar sphere of influence, meaning the pull of the moon’s gravity will become stronger than Earth’s.

The mission’s long-awaited lunar flyby will occur later that day, during which the Artemis II astronauts will viewnever-before-seen parts of the moon’s surface. These areas on the far side are not visible from Earth because that part of the moon always faces away from our planet. Even the Apollo astronauts couldn’t view much of the moon’s far side due to the paths and timing of their flights.

The official lunar flyby period for Artemis II lasts six hours and begins at 2:45 p.m. ET.

As the Orion capsule swings around the moon, Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen are set to travel farther from Earth than any humans have before. They’re expected to reach their maximum distance from Earth — 252,757 miles — at 7:05 p.m. ET. That will break the Apollo 13 distance record by around 4,100 miles.

They should surpass the Apollo 13 distance of 248,655 miles at 1:56 p.m. ET.

Over the course of the day, the astronauts should come as close as 4,600 miles to the lunar surface. From their vantage point, the moon will look about the size of a basketball held at arms’ length. The crew is tasked with making close observations of its features and taking photographs. Their images of craters, ridges and ancient lava flows on the lunar surface could help scientists better understand how the moon — and the solar system — formed.

Toward the end of the lunar observation period, the crew will have the opportunity to experience a solar eclipse from space. The sun will move behind the moon at 8:35 p.m. ET, blocking its light from the perspective of the Orion capsule. The eclipse will last almost an hour.

During that time, the moon will appear mostly dark, which will give the astronauts a chance to observe the sun’s corona and look for flashes of light from rocky objects smacking into the moon.

After their flyby, the astronauts will spend the next three days journeying home. They are expected to return to Earth on Friday, with the mission culminating in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, just after 8 p.m. ET.

Hansen said the flight so far has been emotional, full of joy, happiness and disbelief.

“Right away, you are humbled,” he said. “The fact that four of us get to be out here just brings you to your knees.”

And while theearly photos of Earthand the moon that Hansen and his colleagues have beamed back have been spectacular, the Canadian astronaut said they pale in comparison to the real deal outside their capsule’s windows.

“I know those photos are amazing,” he said, “but let me assure you, it is another level of amazing up here.”

Tom Costello spoke to the Artemis II crew from Houston. Denise Chow reported from New York City.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 05, 2026

'Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far side

HOUSTON — The Artemis II astronauts are now more than halfwayto the moonand have caught their first glimpses of the lunar far side. ...

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Where is Artemis II? Follow updates as NASA mission approaches moon

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission to orbit the moon are preparing for perhaps the most exciting phase of their journey, when they will lay eyes on the far side of the moon, as they continue on their trajectory on Sunday, April 5.

The Artemis II crew has traveled over 206,482 miles from Earth and is closing the distance with each passing second.

The mission launched on April 1 at about 6:35 p.m. ET with NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day flight to take the crew farther into space than anyone has ever gone. Artemis IIwon't be landing on the moon; that's planned for Artemis IV in 2028.

On April 5, the crew plans to continue planned testing and conduct a burn to put them on the right trajectory for their flight path, according to the NASA schedule.

The lunar flyby will happen April 6, in a roughly six-hour window when the sun, moon and Orion spacecraft are aligned to give the crew a view of the far side of the moon that can't be seen from Earth.

See photos from space during NASA's Artemis II mission so far

Where is the Artemis II mission right now?

At about 7 a.m. ET on April 5, the Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts was about 206,482 miles away from Earth and gaining distance by the second. It was traveling at a velocity of 1,771 mph, and was about 75,000 miles away from the moon.

You can follow along on the crew's exact movements usingNASA's Artemis II tracker.

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The tracker, called the "Artemis Real-time Orbit Website" (AROW), shows how far the Orion capsule is from Earth, its distance from the moon and how fast it's traveling.

The tracker uses data collected in real time by sensors on Orion that are sent to the Mission Control Center in Houston. The website is being constantly updated, and users can see moment-by-moment updates to the space mission's position.

More:How long will it take Artemis II to get to the moon? Here's a timeline

What are the astronauts doing on April 5?

On April 5, the Artemis II crew was set to enter a sleep period at about 3:20 a.m. ET, according to NASA'sschedule. They will be awoken around 11:50 to begin their fifth day in space. On previous days, the mission management team on the ground has played different songs to wake up the astronauts.

In the afternoon, they are set to conduct testing with the Orion Crew Survival System Suit, the suits that are "equipped with safety technology and mobility features to help protect astronauts on launch day, in emergency situations, high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, and during the high-speed return to Earth."

Later at night, they are scheduled to perform an outbound trajectory correction burn, one of three planned burns to fine-tune the Orion spacecraft's trajectory and velocity. The first burn on April 3 was canceled after flight controllers on the ground determined its trajectory was already on the right flight path.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:See where Artemis II is right now as NASA mission approaches moon

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 05, 2026

Where is Artemis II? Follow updates as NASA mission approaches moon

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission to orbit the moon are preparing for perhaps the most exciting phase of their journey, when they wi...

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Pope Leo XIV to carry cross for entire procession, the first pontiff to do so in decades

ROME (AP) —Pope Leo XIVwill personally carry the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his firstGood Fridayas pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope carries the cross to every station.

Vatican Pope Good Friday

“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week outside of the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995, when he carried it just part of the way, according to AP reports at the time.

For the first two years of his papacy,Benedict XVIcarried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers in the procession that ends on a platform on the Palatine Hill.

Pope Francisnever carried the cross, but participated in the procession until his health worsened. He died after a long illness last year on Easter Monday, which fell on April 21.

Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection as a young man.

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At 70, Leo is physically fit and an avid tennis player and swimmer. Before becoming pope, Leo wouldwork out regularlyat a gym near the Vatican, with a plan befitting a man in his early 50s, according to his former trainer.

Crowds are expected to gather outside of the Colosseum for the Way of the Cross, which commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to taking up the cross to his crucifixion, death and burial. The procession ends outside the Colosseum atop the Palatine Hill.

The meditations, which are read aloud at each station, were composed by the Rev. Francesco Patton, who was custos (or custodian) of the Holy Land 2016-25, charged, among other things, with looking after sacred sites

“The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote in his introduction. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over Easter vigil rites at St. Peter’s Square and lead Roman Catholics into Christianity’s most joyous celebration marking Christ’s resurrection.

On Easter Sunday, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Easter message and offer the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city (of Rome) and the world.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 05, 2026

Pope Leo XIV to carry cross for entire procession, the first pontiff to do so in decades

ROME (AP) —Pope Leo XIVwill personally carry the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his f...

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Crews making progress containing Southern California wildfire as some mandatory evacuations remain

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Crews made progress Saturday battling a smokywildfire in southern Californiathat broke out a day earlier and prompted mandatory evacuations.

Encompassing roughly 6.3 square miles (about 16 square kilometers) in Riverside County, about 64 miles (103 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the Springs Fire was at least 45% percent contained on Saturday, a fire department spokesperson said. It was 25% contained on Friday.

While gusts up to 45 mph (72 kph) were predicted Saturday, Terra Fernandez, public safety information specialist for the Riverside County Fire Department, said winds had “dissipated a bit” since Friday, helping the efforts of fire crews.

“We’re feeling confident. The winds have died down so it’s assisting us in making more progress," she said. Fernandez also credited efforts to build and strengthen containment lines around the fire perimeter.

“We have natural equestrian trails around where a lot of the structures are and so that helps our firefighters make access.” she said. “And the humidity increasing this evening will also help.”

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So far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed, Fernandez said.

Crews began early Saturday dropping water and retardant all around the fire by air. About 260 personnel are battling the blaze, including crews from around the region who are building and strengthening the containment lines and laying hose, she said.

Less than a dozen zones in the county remained under mandatory evacuation orders, while evacuation warnings in other parts of the county were lifted. It was not immediately known how many households were affected by the orders.

The fire is located in a populated unincorporated part of Riverside County that's a recreational area near the city of Moreno Valley, which has a population of roughly 200,000.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 04, 2026

Crews making progress containing Southern California wildfire as some mandatory evacuations remain

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Crews made progress Saturday battling a smokywildfire in southern Californiathat broke out a day earlier and p...

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Descendants of Choctaw code talkers gather in Fort Worth for historical marker unveiling

Nuchi Nashoba grew up looking at a photograph of her great-grandfather Ben Carterby inside her grandmother’s Oklahoma home. But, she didn’t know much about the man in the frame other than that he was a World War I veteran.

Code Talkers-Recognition

It wasn’t until 1989 — when Nashoba was in her late 20s — that she learned a deep secret about her ancestor.

Carterby wasone of the Choctaw code talkers— a group of 19 Native American soldiers who used their language to transmit encrypted messages to the Allies during campaigns in northern France. The soldiers were sworn to secrecy and hid details of their service from families for decades.

Over the past 20 years, Nashoba has led advocacy efforts to spotlight the group’s hidden legacy as president of the Choctaw Code Talkers Association. Now, the soldiers’ contributions are recognized in Fort Worth througha new plaque at the city’s Veterans Memorial Park.

The Choctaw Code Talker Historical Marker was unveiled during an April 1 ceremony hosted by the Oklahoma tribe, the Texas Historical Commission and the city’s parks and recreation department. Several descendants of the Native soldiers attended.

“Seeing the marker really brings me a lot of joy,” Nashoba said. “This is what preserves the history for generations to come.”

Choctaw code talkers’ ties to Fort Worth

Members of the Choctaw code talkers were men who volunteered to fight for the U.S. in World War I at a time when Native Americans were not recognized as citizens. Indigenous communitieswouldn’t receive citizenship until 1924.

While in the battlefields in France, some of these men were overheard speaking their Choctaw language and were trained to use their words as “code.” They were placed on front lines and command posts so that messages could be transmitted to headquarters.

The soldiers shared words like “tanampo chito” for artillery and “tvshka” for warriors, according to the historical marker. The Germans famously failed to decipher these Choctaw transmissions within 24 hours throughout the war.

The Choctaw group is widely considered to be thefirst Native American code talkersto serve in the U.S. military. Their work paved the way for theNavajo code talkersduring World War II.

“Their story is a testament to the resilience and patriotism of the Choctaw Nation,” Col. Brent Kemp, commander of the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the National Guard, said at the unveiling. “Their ingenuity and bravery reminds us of the power of cultural heritage and the importance of preserving Indigenous languages.”

The Native American soldiers were in the36th Infantry Division at Camp Bowie, a westside training site for more than 100,000 soldiers during World War I.

Council member Macy Hill, who represents Camp Bowie, said it was only fitting for Fort Worth to honor the legacy of the code talkers since they walked on the site’s grounds.

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“This is where the Choctaw code talkers were initially trained and where they will forever be remembered,” she said.

Descendants carry the torch

As Ta’Na Alexander — the great-great-granddaughter of Carterby — watched the marker’s unveiling in Fort Worth, she couldn’t help but feel proud that her family’s history is slowly spreading across the U.S.

“It’s pretty monumental to realize that more people are starting to recognize the significant part of these men who were sworn to secrecy,” said Alexander, who is Nashoba’s daughter. “This marker connects the past to the future.”

She credits her mother’s leadership for widespread education about the work of Native soldiers.

Last May, the Choctaw Code Talkers Associationled the charge to place a bronze sculpturehonoring the group at the Choctaw Cultural Center in southern Oklahoma. The artwork depicts three soldiers in the middle of battle.

The organization also advocated for 23 Oklahoma bridges tobe renamed after the code talkersand other Native veterans.

The Fort Worth marker was the group’s first venture into Texas, Nashoba said. The group is exploring other statewide recognitions, she added.

For now, Alexander invites Fort Worth residents to stroll through the memorial park to learn that her ancestors’ stories aren’t just about being Native. They’re about what it means to be American, she said.

“You might not be Native or Choctaw, but what we do share in common is that we have the right to vote,” she said. “We have a voice. We have a freedom that exists here that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

The Fort Worth Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policyhere.

This story was originally published byFort Worth Reportand distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 04, 2026

Descendants of Choctaw code talkers gather in Fort Worth for historical marker unveiling

Nuchi Nashoba grew up looking at a photograph of her great-grandfather Ben Carterby inside her grandmother’s Oklahoma home. But, she di...

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Women take pride in Holy Week roles after a Spanish Catholic brotherhood's procession excluded them

MONTORO, Spain (AP) — One religious brotherhood’s refusal to include women in itsHoly Weekprocession has made front-page news in Spain, whose Easter-time festivities dating back centuries are among the most fervently celebrated in the world.

Spain-Holy Week-Women

The exclusion is the exception in the Catholic processions that have been unfolding across the country. They vary from hourslong versions that attract tens of thousands of faithful and tourists in major cities likeSevilleto village affairs that speak more intimately to family and tradition.

There was indignation at the controversy unfolding in Sagunto, where a majority of the Puríssima Sang de Nostre Senyor Jesucrist brotherhood’s members voted to exclude women and said their decision was based on “respect for tradition.” The news triggered protests from the government as well as in the streets.

Holy Week processions in Spain are elaborate affairs that take months to prepare, peaking in the early hours ofGood Friday, one of the most solemn days.

Brotherhoods organize the groups that for hours carry the heavy floats with statues, sometimes up to half a dozen of them representing scenes from the Gospels' accounts of Jesus’ passion and death, like Judas’ betraying kiss onthe Mount of Olives.

Women are sometimes “portadoras,” carrying the floats on their shoulders.

In Baena, a hilltop hamlet of whitewashed homes among Andalusia’s olive groves, eyelashes lushly covered in mascara were seen through the purple hoods of women carrying a flower-decked float with a statue of Jesus in prayer.

In Montoro, another village in the same province of Córdoba, a member of a local brotherhood said men and women should have equal roles, especially since the sacred images carried in procession include both the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

“In my house I have three daughters, with my wife that's four, and with me we're five — and the whole family takes part,” added Ricardo Ruano, who on Holy Thursday was a “costalero,” one of the robed people carrying large floats on the base of their neck. “We wait for this the whole year, because it's our favorite.”

Several “portadoras” in Montoro said they were indignant at the controversy in Sagunto.

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“We as women have the same right as a man to go out in the procession,” said one, Rosa de la Cruz. “We don’t go in a procession so that people look at us, we participate so that they see the image.”

Many in the village devoted their Holy Week prayers to the victims of adevastating train accidentoutside a nearby town that killed nearly four dozen people in January.

Even as Spain, like most of Europe, isincreasingly secular, interest keeps growing in participating in procession roles, said Juan Carlos González Faraco, a University of Huelva professor. He has studied religious traditions in Andalusia, including theEl Rocío pilgrimageat the end of the Easter season.

Historically male, brotherhoods have been including women in both leadership and processional roles for decades, he added. That’s especially true in the lines of often hooded “penitents” who march alongside the floats, though some of the heaviest floats are still carried only by men.

In Montoro, Mari Carmen Lopez said physical strength might vary, but men and women share the same feeling.

“We go with faith, with devotion, with all our hearts,” she said as her brotherhood’s float made its way through the village’s uphill alleys. Men who disregard that, she added, “don’t realize they were born of a woman.”

Dell'Orto reported from Miami.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 04, 2026

Women take pride in Holy Week roles after a Spanish Catholic brotherhood's procession excluded them

MONTORO, Spain (AP) — One religious brotherhood’s refusal to include women in itsHoly Weekprocession has made front-page news in Spain,...

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Memphis Grizzlies Player Brandon Clarke Arrested On Drug and Speeding Charges 3 Months After Season-Ending Injury

NBA player Brandon Clarke was arrested in Arkansas and faces multiple charges, including trafficking a controlled substance

NEED TO KNOW

• Clarke has been sidelined since December 2025 due to a calf injury and will miss the rest of the season

• “I’m aware of the report, but don’t have any comments," Memphis Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo said hours after the arrest

Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke was arrested in Arkansas on Wednesday, April 1, and is facing multiple charges.

According toonline jail records, the NBA star was booked by the Cross County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday at 1:03 p.m. local time, and is facing charges of improper passing, possession of a controlled substance, fleeing-vehicle or conveyance-exceeding the speed limit, and trafficking a controlled substance.

When reached by PEOPLE for comment on Clarke's arrest, the Cross County Sheriff’s Office said that "there is no additional information that can be released" at this time.

Ahead of the Grizzlies' game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said, “I’m aware of the report, but don’t have any comments," according to theAssociated Press.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Memphis Grizzlies for comment.

Clarke has been off the court aftersustaining a Grade 2 right calf strainin the first quarter of the Grizzlies' home game against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 20, 2025.

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The Grizzliesannounced on March 24that Clarke was continuing to progress in his rehabilitation of the right calf strain, "but recent imaging indicated that additional healing is required prior to clearance for high-intensity court work."

"Clarke will continue his rehabilitation program and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season, but he is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season," the statement continued.

The injury caused Clarke to sit out the last 46 games, per the AP.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Clarke was drafted by the Grizzlies with theNo. 21 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draftand was named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team for the 2019-2020season.

Read the original article onPeople

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 04, 2026

Memphis Grizzlies Player Brandon Clarke Arrested On Drug and Speeding Charges 3 Months After Season-Ending Injury

NBA player Brandon Clarke was arrested in Arkansas and faces multiple charges, including trafficking a controlled substance NEED ...

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