Jubilant return of Artemis II shadowed by 'extinction-level' cuts to Nasa: 'It's discordant'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 11 Apr 2026 08.33 EDT
Last modified on Sat 11 Apr 2026 08.34 EDT


The astronauts on board Artemis II were “almost poets”, Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, declared on Friday, referring to their inspiring words as they swung above the lunar surface. They were, he said, “ambassadors for humanity” as they became the first humans to travel to the moon and return safely to Earth since 1972, on a mission that broke a distance record.

Meanwhile, the mood at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday night was one of jubilation and celebration as the Orion capsule made a textbook splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after its 10-day lunar odyssey. Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, plus Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, will give a press conference later on what they saw and experienced. “The mission is over but the melody lingers on,” Nasa TV commentator Derrol Nail noted.

In truth, the successful conclusion of the US space agency’s first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years represented unquestionably its biggest achievement since the Apollo generation. To do again what no other country has managed to accomplish once leaves the US with a significant advantage in the new space race with China for the next moon landing and construction of a permanent habitat there.

Yet once the celebratory flags stop waving, and the engineers of Artemis refocus their attentions on the challenges ahead, it is hard to escape the notion that the biggest hurdle to the realization of the country’s grand ambitions in deep space lies within. Even as Integrity, the mission moniker for the Orion capsule of Artemis II, ascended into the heavens days ago, Donald Trump was announcing his intention to slash Nasa’s budget by 23%, including a 46% cut for space science initiatives. And the Artemis program that has run years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget offers no guarantees that the next, far harder stages will run as smoothly.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/apr/11/artemis-ii-nasa-budget-cuts

[turbinetree]

1. That pretty rich Isaacman what have you done for humanity...........with your companies............

have taxpayers rent your air force to the military............how much does your payment processing centers charge.............for humanity..............how much taxes did you pay into NASA to have this program...........for humanity............