{"id":47728,"date":"2026-04-11T15:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47728"},"modified":"2026-04-11T15:18:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:18:30","slug":"artemis-ii-crew-spots-smiley-face-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47728","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II crew spots smiley face on the moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Sometimes we get a little whimsy with our science, folks. <\/p>\n<p>A photo of a giant lunar crater taken by NASA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/artemis-ii\/index.html\">Artemis II<\/a>\u00a0astronauts reveals that the man in the moon is not only real, but in a very good mood. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Artemis II crew captured this image showing the rings of the Orientale basin during their lunar flyby on April 6,\u201d NASA <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NASAArtemis\/status\/2041515242627149989\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">captioned the photo<\/a>, posted to X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Viewers were quick to note that the basin looks a whole lot like a smiling cartoon face.  <span class=\"credit\">NASA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Viewers were quick to note that the basin looks a whole lot like a smiling cartoon face. <\/p>\n<p>Replies include zoomed-in images of the original photo, with many highlighting the smiling contours. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears highly probable that this is Doraemon,\u201d said one fan, referencing the time-traveling robotic cat character from Japanese manga. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201d\u2019Cute like a hippo,\u201d a second user remarked, noting the similarities between the snub-nosed land mammal and the lunar visage.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoon is smiling by watching the rotation of the Earth,\u201d mused a third.<\/p>\n<p>A fourth suggested naming the crater Howard for its apparent resemblance to Howard the Duck.  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cIt appears highly probable that this is Doraemon,\u201d said one fan, referencing the time-traveling robotic cat character from Japanese manga. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cLooks like a dog,\u201d added one. <\/p>\n<p>Another sweetly added: \u201cA smile from the moon it is.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Thavash\/status\/2041746920453107897\/photo\/1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To the left of the supposed smiley face<span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\"> is a bright spot that the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/05\/us-news\/artemis-ii-crew-is-releasing-absolutely-gobsmacking-new-photos-of-earth\/\" target=\"_blank\">Artemis II<\/a>\u00a0crew requested be named for their commander\u2019s late wif<\/span>e. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA number of years ago, we started\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/science\/artemis-ii-will-face-40-minute-blackout-on-far-side-of-moon\/\">this journey<\/a>\u00a0in our close-knit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/04\/world-news\/artemis-ii-crew-packs-a-little-piece-of-home-for-their-space-trip\/\">astronaut family<\/a>, and we lost a loved one,\u201d Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen told Houston in a shaking voice as Cmdr. Reid Wiseman cried along with the mission\u2019s other two crew members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a feature in a really neat place on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/us-news\/artemis-ii-flys-by-moon-in-first-historic-look-at-the-lunar-dark-side\/\">the moon<\/a>, and it is on the near side-far side boundary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Replies include zoomed-in images of the bottom right of the original photo, with many highlighting the smiling contours.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cSo at certain times of the moon\u2019s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe lost a loved one, her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie,\u201d Hansen explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call that Carroll,\u201d he told Mission Control of the crater, with Houston agreeing to the request.<\/p>\n<p>The crew also requested that another crater be named after their capsule, Integrity.<\/p>\n<p>One space fan had a different set of names in mind: \u201cMy suggestions would be Pink and Floyd \u2026\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>To the left of the supposed smiley face is a bright spot that the\u00a0Artemis II\u00a0crew requested be named for their commander\u2019s late wife.  <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\">The image was released mere hours after the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/us-news\/artemis-ii-astronauts-travel-further-from-earth-than-any-humans-in-history-breaking-apollo-13-record-set-over-50-years-ago\/\" target=\"_blank\">Artemis II astronauts broke the record held by Apollo 13<\/a><\/span>, effectively becoming the humans who have traveled furthest from Earth. <\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Artemis II crew became the first humans in half a decade to view the far side of the moon with the naked eye. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>From their vantage of 41,072 miles (66,098km) above the lunar surface, the moon appeared similar in scale to a basketball held at arm\u2019s length.  <\/p>\n<p>Having lapped the moon, the astronauts began their journey home, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/science\/artemis-ii-will-face-40-minute-blackout-on-far-side-of-moon\/\">leaving the moon\u2019s gravitational pull\u00a0<\/a>on Tuesday afternoon. <\/p>\n<p>The crew\u00a0is now effectively falling back to Earth over the vastness of space.<\/p>\n<p>A poem.<\/p>\n<p>They were traveling at about 2,100 mph while crossing the gravitational boundary and will steadily accelerate along a trajectory that slings them just over Earth\u2019s atmosphere until they are pulled in and plummet into the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Artemis II will be moving at a staggering 25,000 mph in the final moments of its journey as its capsule falls through the atmosphere, then it will be slowed by a series of parachutes, which should drop it safely off the coast of San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>Splashdown is currently scheduled for 8:07 p.m., if everything goes according to plan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/09\/lifestyle\/artemis-ii-crew-spots-smiley-face-on-the-moon\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes we get a little whimsy with our science, folks. A photo of a giant lunar crater taken by NASA\u2019s\u00a0Artemis II\u00a0astronauts reveals that the man in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}