The dismissal of the 22 members of the National Science Board by the Donald Trump administration is an “unprecedented” move, explains Yolanda Gil, one of the ousted advisers, in an interview with EL PAÍS. Gil, who has a long scientific career in the United States, confirms that all members of the board were dismissed “effective immediately” last Friday by email, with no explanation of the reasons.

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Europe and its space industry have been essential to the success of Artemis 2, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over half a century. The engines that propelled the four astronauts to the lunar surface and back safely were part of the European Service Module (ESM), Europe’s major contribution to this U.S.-led program. The systems that kept them alive for 10 days, such as the oxygen, water, and heat supply aboard a spacecraft traversing deep space at temperatures around -270 degrees Celsius, are also part of this module. And then there were the solar panels, without which the mission would have lacked power.

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Michel Mayor’s life could have ended in one of the worst deaths imaginable. In 1968, this Swiss mountaineering enthusiast fell into a crevasse on an Alpine glacier. One possibility was that he might become trapped between two suffocating walls of ice that would slowly swallow him with every cry for help, with every movement he made to try to escape. In the end, he was lucky: his companions pulled him out, bleeding but alive.

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The four crew members of Artemis 2 face the most dangerous remaining part of their mission on April 10. The Orion spacecraft, which has traveled to the far side of the Moon, is scheduled to return to Earth at 5.07 p.m. PDT (8.07 p.m. EST). The descent will last just 13 minutes, during which the exterior of the spacecraft will reach temperatures exceeding 2,700 degrees Celsius due to the extreme pressure and air resistance. If all goes well, Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will splash down in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of San Diego, California, where a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship is already waiting.

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