NASA releases thousands more Artemis II photos. Here are the best.<\/p>\n
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NASA released thousands of new photos taken during the Artemis II mission around the moon. The astronauts selected for the mission thoroughly documented the 10-day voyage, which included an April 6 lunar flyby as they traveled more than a quarter-million miles from Earth.<\/p>\n
(Provided by NASA)NASA\u2019s next giant leap: A moon base<\/p>\n
NASA has big plans for the moon. The space agency outlined an ambitious three-phase launch program<\/a> of landers, drones, rovers and infrastructure to construct a $20 billion lunar base by 2032 where astronauts can live and work. (It has been only two months since the historic Artemis II mission<\/a> sent four astronauts to our close neighbor.) \u201cThe Moon Base will be America\u2019s and humanity\u2019s first outpost on another celestial world,\u201d NASA chief Jared Isaacman<\/a> said. Another goal of this ultimate construction project: laying the groundwork for sending humans to Mars.<\/p>\n Beloved \u2018Big Boy\u2019 chugs toward history<\/p>\n Union Pacific\u2019s \u201cBig Boy,\u201d the world’s largest working steam locomotive<\/a> and a thundering piece of Americana, was rolling east from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Philadelphia to join the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebrations<\/a> in July. The 133-foot-long locomotive is the last of the mammoth engines built to haul heavy metal during World War II. More than 1 million people are expected to greet it at stops in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York. \u201cThey\u2019re going to hear that whistle,\u201d said Union Pacific\u2019s Ed Dickens. \u201cYou\u2019ll feel the ground rumbling, feel the heat. … This locomotive, it does not disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n USA 250: <\/strong>Catch up on the big plans for the nation\u2019s 250th birthday<\/a><\/p>\n Calling all coin collectors<\/p>\n American consumers can soon get their hands on something shiny and new, along with a nod to the warm and familiar. The semiquincentennial quarter<\/a> honoring the Declaration of Independence, featuring Thomas Jefferson on the front and the Liberty Bell on the back, ships out June 1, the U.S. Mint announced, the third of five new quarters<\/a> for 2026 to mark America\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a>. And coming to a post office near you: the return of the popular Mister Rogers stamp<\/a>, winner of the USPS Stamp Encore contest, also to honor the nation\u2019s birthday. It was last seen in 2018, when it sold out in weeks.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t cross Russell Crowe in his own arena<\/p>\n Russell Crowe has been known to have a temper<\/a>, and he has been known to show it. In a video shared by TMZ, the Oscar winner, 62, can be seen signing autographs outside his hotel in Paris. \u201cStay where you are,\u201d he tells fans. \u201cDon\u2019t \u2026 push in on me. \u2026 You got me? Clear?\u201d (Expletives are deleted.) When a fan asks him to add his \u201cGladiator\u201d<\/a> character\u2019s name, Maximus<\/a>, he replies \u201cNo.” The actor responded he would have none of that \u201cclickbait,\u201d however, posting on X: \u201cEverybody got their autograph and selfie. One man, no security. Handled. What\u2019s your problem?\u201d<\/p>\n Doping competition is not so dope after all<\/p>\n For good or bad, the inaugural Enhanced Games<\/a> are in the books. The sprinting, swimming and weightlifting event that allows athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs held its inaugural event in Las Vegas, where organizers had hyped the competition as a PED-friendly Olympics<\/a> with high drama, big purses and shattered records. Only one world record fell, however \u2013 in the 50-meter freestyle, by just a hair (and the new record will remain unofficial.) Also: Of the 10 events, according to The Guardian, \u201cclean\u201d athletes won three. \u2212 Compiled and written by Robert Abitbol<\/p>\n