How many did they have left after the shuttle programme - and are there still facilities to manufacture these if SLS launches ramp up? Or will that be the reason they swap to another rocket?

And Mark Carney invited them for pancakes and maple syrup while they were in space!

NASA's Artemis II News Conference with Moon Astronauts (April 16, 2026) YouTube video by NASA

Can’t wait to see the #ArtemisII crew - been missing the daily doses of their Moon joy! www.youtube.com/live/_43Ei9e...

Sounds like a job for Sue Black!

Yessss!

Chinese Academy of Sciences: Chang'e Mission Samples Reveal How Exogenous Organic Matter Evolves on the Moon english.cas.cn/newsroom/res...

Screenshot Lucavi @lucavi_ftw good news everyone SPACE com Potatoes are better than human blood for making space concrete bricks, scientists say.

Were

Were those the only two options

I think I’m having #ArtemisII withdrawal symptoms - share some of your favourite human moments or photos with me?

I’ll start: Christina Koch talking about seeing Earth and the Moon one moment, then wondering if she should change her socks the next. 😁

NASA science faces 'very serious threat' from new White House budget, experts say "This is the least transparent NASA budget request I've ever seen — and I've literally looked through every single one since 1960."

"This is the least transparent #NASA budget request I've ever seen — and I've literally looked through every single one since 1960." -- @caseydreier.bsky.social

Love that slush fund line for "Mars Technologies" underwriting more Elon promises he can't keep.

#space

www.space.com/astronomy/na...

The Artemis II mission launching.

A reminder that the entire NASA budget is 0.37% of the U.S. government's annual spending.

That's one two-hundred-and-seventieth of the yearly federal budget.

Actually they were 130mph shy of the record set by Apollo 10 apparently!

Christina Koch being greeted by her dog after returning from space is the dose of Monday hopium we all needed 💕

I don’t believe he cares a jot about space. Unless he can make money from it.

The body language when the crew spoke to Trump vs Carney was night and day. It was obvious Carney had been following the mission…

I see your ‘dogs a polling stations’, and raise you ‘cats watching Artemis II splashdown’.

Yes. So much yes.

I still find it a bit crazy that the legitimately reusable elements from the Space Shuttle that are a core part of the SLS (main engines and solid rocket boosters) just get dumped and not recovered… loved working on 16 Sunsets with @drkevinfong.bsky.social et al!

Yeah - incredible achievement! Great to see the astronauts smiling aboard USS John P Murtha - and love that Cmdr Reid Wiseman ensured that fifth crew member Rise wasn’t left behind on Integrity. 😍🫶

Got Kemi Badenoch-ed out of the 9am hour, so space food was my last hit on Sky News. Guess it’s my turn to come back down to Earth after having the time of my life covering Artemis II on Sky.

Could still talk for hours about space, but not sure I know my own name anymore! ☺️

Thanks! There was so much more I (and certainly Pam Melroy) could have added, but it wasn’t my show or my call. Gutted we went off air before Charlie B was on.

Artemis II Moonpie?

Enjoy every second of it - this mission has brought so much (Moon) joy to so many’s Bravo!

And how’d you keep Orion looking so shiny at splashdown? Amazing!

The Artemis II landing module splashing down in the ocean. Three large parachutes are attached, all round with red and white stripes.

A bunch of Tunnock’s tea cakes, each in its foil wrapper with trademark red and white striped pattern.

Rest of the world: “Hooray, the astronauts splashed down safely”

Every British person ever: “TUNNOCKS TEACAKES”

#ArtemisII

Morning @astroroyalscot.bsky.social! Nice to see your Moon joy shining through again just now.

Who needs sleep eh?

Cue card with some quotes from pre-splashdown press conference “If you can’t take love to the stars, then why do we even go?” - Amit Kshatriya, Assoc Admin Administrator. Coffee and a couple of pens on a desk.

Current status.

Moon joy. Moon joy. Moon joy. And coffee. That’s the order of the day for me. Then sleep. Let’s go!

The drama of my evening didn’t stop at splashdown - got to my hotel at 2.45am for my 2.5 hours of sleep only to find they were fully booked. Despite me paying for a room. They sorted a room across the road while I watched the helicopters transport the crew.

Yeah - I think I saw/read the 3000F and converted to Celsius, but then the NASA PAO folk seemed to be saying 4000-5000F. One day I will find out! (Also multiple updated numbers on reentry speed)

Me when the main ‘chutes opened

If you’ve been moved & inspired by Artemis, NASA needs your help. Literally during A2, the president proposed cutting NASA science 47%, canceling 54 missions, including many already in-flight. To help stop these cuts, check out @planetarysociety.bsky.social www.planetary.org/save-nasa-sc...