Luca Parmitano to pilot all-male crew of four paving way for planned first human landing of Artemis IV in 2028

Jared Isaacman, the Nasa administrator, hailed the creation of “Earth’s first starfleet” on Tuesday as he revealed the Artemis III crew and details of the next stages of the space agency’s project to return humans to the moon.

An Italian astronaut, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA), will be the pilot of the planned two-week mission to lower Earth orbit next year that will test lunar landers from private companies Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Matrixis hands-down one of the most influential science-fiction filmsever made. The Wachowskis' 1999 classic completely changed the genre with its groundbreaking visual effects, unforgettable action sequences, and a premise that instantly hooked audiences. Watching Keanu Reeves as Neo discover the truth about reality for the first time remains one of the greatest movie experiences ever.

Manuel Gual posted a photo:

Echoes of the Delta: A Visual Journey Through the Soul of the Blues

Description
This collection captures the raw, unyielding spirit of the American Deep South and the enduring legacy of blues music. From the mythical dirt crossroads under a midnight moon to the neon-lit doorways of bustling juke joints, these scenes weave a powerful narrative of hardship, resilience, and musical salvation. You can feel the steady rhythm in the weathered hands strumming a worn acoustic guitar on a wooden porch, hear the soulful wails echoing through smoky recording studios, and observe the quiet, melancholic contemplation in a lonely diner at dawn. It is a visual tribute to the pioneers of rhythm and blues, the rural landscapes where the sorrow songs were born, and the dusty highways that carried those melodies across the country. Every portrait—whether it is a passionate singer pouring his heart into a microphone, lifelong friends sharing a laugh over a quiet evening, or a lone traveler leaning against a vintage pickup truck—embodies the authentic, vibrant pulse of Americana folklore.

These images were generated by Artificial Intelligence.

For the first time in more than 50 years, NASA launched a mission to the Moon. A lot has changed since 1972, when we last checked in on the enormous, rocky satellite, but there is much to learn—and revisit—when it comes to traveling through deep space and considering what, as NASA describes it, a “long-term return” to our lunar companion could look like. The Artemis II mission, which is currently underway and scheduled to last a total of 10 days, has also released some remarkable images of our home planet.

A striking image of the Earth “setting” behind the cratered Moon takes a truly unique view of our planet and prompts us to consider our perspective. It’s reminiscent of one of the most iconic photographs of all time, known as “Earthrise,” which was snapped by astronaut William Anders during the 1968 Apollo 8 mission—the first crewed trip to the Moon.

Artemis II is scheduled to return to Earth on the evening of April 10, when the crew will splash down into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Artemis II Captures Spectacular Images of ‘Earthset’ from Deep Space appeared first on Colossal.

Since a good many crime movies have a “crime doesn’t pay” thing going on (especially those made some time ago), it’s not exactly the happiest of genres. Even crime movies that focus on good people can showcase bad things happening to them, and then the really effective ones can also make you feel bad for people who themselves are doing bad things.

When it comes to photo dumps, NASA has upped the ante. The organization has added thousands of snapshots from the Artemis II mission to the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth archive. The album now holds 12,217 images by cosmic travelers Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen during their more than 250,000-mile, 10-day flyby mission around the moon.

According to PetaPixel, a couple of Nikons and an iPhone 17 were the cameras of choice for the journey. And even though many of the thousands of recently uploaded images are very similar—some are even quite blurry—scrolling through them gives the impression of being seated right next to the “Moonfarers” as they marvel at Earth and its satellite and simply can’t put the camera down—just like we tend to snap way too many photos of a beautiful sunset.

Some of the most impactful photos include the reflections of the astronauts’ hands and faces in the window of their vehicle, the Orion module. Juxtaposed with meticulously engineered equipment, the earth and moon seem somehow less abstracted from this unique vantage point, in which these orbs appear somehow more resonant and precious—and vulnerable.

Explore more of our favorites below, and learn about the Artemis II mission on NASA’s site.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article NASA Just Dropped More Than 12,000 Photos from the Artemis II Mission appeared first on Colossal.

Outer Senshi join their anime/manga magical girl sisters on the streets of Minato Ward.

Sailor Moon features some pretty fantastical settings, with much of its mythos involving ancient kingdoms on the moon and antagonists hailing from even farther reaches of the cosmos. However, most of the series takes place in Minato, one the actual wards of real-world Tokyo, where Usagi and her friends live, go to school, and fight many of the manga/anime’s monsters of the week,

So a while back, Minato Ward decided to celebrate the connection by installing Sailor Moon manhole covers featuring artwork of Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. As fans will be quick to point out, though, that’s actually only half the series’ roster of magical girls. As time went on, creator Naoko Takeuchi added new heroines to the cast, and now Minato Ward is adding new Sailor Moon manhole covers to its streets.

Out of the first five covers, four featured the Inner Sailor Senshi (Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus), while power couple Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask shared the fifth. The two new designs will both once again feature the Inner Senshi, but they’ll be joined by the Outer Senshi, Sailors Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, as well as disruptive and divisive time-traveler Sailor Chibi Moon.

The first of the new manhole covers has the fully assembled Senshi standing amidst the branches of a cherry blossom tree with the sakura in full bloom. It was installed towards the end of March in Minato Ward’s Roppongi district, specifically on the Roppongi 7-4-2 block, not far from the Tokyo Midtown shopping and entertainment complex.

The second new Sailor Moon cover, the seventh overall, will also show all 10 Sailor Senshi, this time with a pastel rainbow color scheme to the background. But while we know what it’ll look like, Minato Ward is keeping its location a secret for now, and will only be publicizing where to find it after it’s been installed.

Minato Ward is keeping the exact timetable under wraps too, but the Sailor Moon official website says that the rainbow Sailor Moon cover should be in place by the end of this month. And if you’re looking for even more crossovers between anime artwork and public infrastructure, don’t forget about the new Pokémon manhole covers in a part of Japan that’s looking to bounce back from a natural disaster.

Source: Minato Ward, Sailor Moon official website
Images: Minato Ward
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!