On April 1st, at 6:35:12 p.m. EDT, as the sun was starting to set, NASA launched Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is one of the first steps to landing people back on the Moon, since the last time we’ve done that was in 1969. 

Their mission was to scope out the far side of the moon, along with doing many tests to eventually land people back on the moon, on one of the craters that we have less information about. The Crewed (Reid Wiseman, the Commander, Victor Glover, the Pilot, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, two Mission Specialists) Lunar Flyby lasted 9 days, 1 hour, 32 Minutes.. Out of the four crew members, three are American, and the latter Canadian. 

This mission, though launched by NASA in the United States, was a major international mission, shown by the mixed crew and parts of the rocket being made by Airbus, a German Company. In a time of international conflicts, this joint mission shows that the search for knowledge goes past war and borders.

The four astronauts have made history by not only seeing the far side of the moon, but being the furthest humans in outer space, reaching over 250 thousand miles away from earth. Their mission was not only amazing and has brought new information back down to earth, but terrifying at the same time, since it was reliant on rocketing from the moon back to earth using gravity and little thrust. 

Now that we have completed this step, NASA will be looking forward to building a base on the moon.

Written By:  Lucinda Wilson-Petty

Sources: NASA, NASA, Wikipedia 

Not everybody went to Japan this past break. But fret not, there is a very reliable account of everything that occurred over there on the island. You can find the actual tour list elsewhere, but boiled down, the tour mostly covered a bunch of shrines and temples, other touristy areas, museum, mountain, and bamboo forest. Now, to the actual tour experience. Locomotion consisted primarily of walking, and a lot of it. In different areas, people also struggled to listen and follow instructions, and found themselves in areas they weren’t supposed to. There was also a seeming difficulty to stay quiet and disclose allergies and preferences against seafood beforehand. The streets were much cleaner than here and so were the subways. On the topic trains, there was a delay at the bullet trains. Overall, the locations were not that memorable. It was difficult to actually hear the tour guides, which is unfortunate. In summary, Japan was wonderful, but the people there, not so much. 

Written By:  Jason Yan

Source: Person who went on the trip

Spring is finally here after a long winter! In the Northern Hemisphere, spring starts on March 20th and ends on June 21st, that is when summer begins. As the cold fades away and the cherry blossoms start to bloom, going outside without a jacket is going to be an amazing experience on its own, but there’s more to it. In New York City, there’s a lot of places to visit with friends and family or even yourself. Central Park is a must have place to visit to see the beautiful growing pink and white cherry blossoms. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is another place to go during the spring season as it is home to hundreds of different flowers including magnolias, tulips, and daffodils. Another place to witness these beautiful scenes in the summer or spring is Roosevelt Island. By taking the Roosevelt Island Tramway, you get to experience the beauty of cherry blossoms paired with the unique Manhattan skyline. Union Square is also a popular attraction during Spring as Union Square has beautiful cherry blossoms to walk through. Don’t spend your spring bored at home, go outside and explore!

Written By:  Jasmeet Sidhu

Source: Time Out.com