I don’t usually bother with celebrity news because I like to think my audience is too smart and sophisticated for that. But of course, that’s ridiculous. I mean, look at you. So today, we’re going to catch up on the shenanigans of the famous, rich, and powerful, because it’s degrading and wastes precious moments of our lives, and that’s what <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/andrew-klavan?elementPosition=6&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel">The Andrew Klavan Show</a> is all about.
So let’s get started.
According to the Daily Mail, Byron Noem, the husband of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, has been secretly posting pictures of himself online wearing women’s hot pink underwear and enormous fake breasts. Kristi Noem said she was absolutely devastated to discover her husband was a Democrat, but she did feel that this might explain how she could sleep with Corey Lewandowski and consider it an upgrade. President Trump said he felt sorry for the Noem family, although he congratulated Byron on having such a nice rack.
Champion philanderer Tiger Woods, while apparently under the influence of drugs and alcohol, rolled his car over, after clipping a truck. Woods told police his life was full of so much sex and success and money that only abusing substances could keep him from sinking into despair. He was charged with three counts of driving while being an ungrateful schmuck.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/andrew-klavan?elementPosition=6&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Shapely, semi-attractive Australian actress Milly Alcock has been cast to star in the $300 million DC studio film &#8220;Supergirl.&#8221; Alcock told Vanity Fair that the role “definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on. We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies.” 
The comment won Alcock the coveted Rachel Zegler award — a bronze statuette of a mouth without a brain attached, that is given to the shapely, semi-attractive actress most likely to tank a studio’s investment while under the delusion that people want to hear her opinions. Medical experts say this delusion is often brought on by men telling women they are interested in their opinions and women thinking that means men are interested in their opinions.
Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen and Jane Fonda were among the thousands of doddering old white people who shuffled out to the latest &#8220;No Kings&#8221; rallies, which must’ve been held to celebrate the fact that we have no kings, because otherwise they just don’t make any sense. De Niro and Springsteen got together to reminisce about how they made millions of dollars by simply saying a meaningless phrase over and over again, like “You talking to me?” or “Born in the USA.” Springsteen said he could not believe that Boomers had been gullible enough to pay them for doing something so monotonous, but it gave him hope that Boomers might also be stupid enough to take the &#8220;No Kings&#8221; rallies seriously.
Black, gay, transgender actor Billy Porter was also at a &#8220;No Kings&#8221; rally, where he complained that black, gay, transgender actors are having a hard time finding work because — Donald Trump. Personally, I find this story kind of confusing. I mean, if you’re transgender and gay, isn’t that the same as being straight? Like, Billy Porter is a man who thinks he’s a woman, but he’s gay, so he’s a woman attracted to other women, so he’s really just a man who’s attracted to women. In which case, it seems possible the reason Billy Porter can’t find work isn’t because Donald Trump but because Billy Porter is an irritating no-talent.
Finally, Lindsey Graham and the rest of the Senate got to go on vacation to rest up after grueling weeks of doing absolutely nothing. Graham was later photographed wandering around Disney World’s Fantasyland with a Little Mermaid Bubble Wand. Lest anyone get the impression Graham is a sad old queen who wanders around Fantasyland with a bubble wand, the senator immediately issued a macho photograph of himself firing a shotgun. The Little Mermaid’s slug-riddled body was subsequently found in a pool of her own bubbles.
Fantasyland Police are still searching for Graham and, in fact, for the rest of the Senate, hoping to bring them back to Washington D.C. where they can pass intelligent, useful legislation. Because this is Fantasyland.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>.

Klavan springsteen de niro

Celebrity Culture Just Handed Us A Few More Reasons To Roll Our Eyes

Andrew Klavan

Bruce Springsteen

Celebrities

Moon

NASA

Outer Space

Protests

Robert de Niro

Satire

Space

The Artemis II mission is officially headed to the Moon after NASA gave the go-ahead for its Orion spacecraft to leave Earth&#8217;s orbit for the next stage of its historic space mission. 
Orion fired its main engine at 7:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, sending the four astronauts aboard out of Earth’s orbit and onto a trajectory toward the Moon. The crew is set to travel around the Moon and could venture farther than any humans have since the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. 
“Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon,” <a href="https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2039857997556416676">said</a> NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. This time, farther than ever before.”
On Friday morning, NASA posted a picture showing the view of the astronauts from Orion as they continued toward the moon.
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Good morning, world! 🌎
We have spectacular new high-resolution images of our home planet, all of us looking back through the Orion capsule window at our Artemis II astronauts as they continue their journey to the Moon. <a href="https://t.co/QjxGfWiRcS">pic.twitter.com/QjxGfWiRcS</a>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/2040059740848283920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
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As Orion departed Earth’s orbit, the four astronauts spoke from space in a broadcast from NASA to ABC and Fox News. Commander Reid Wiseman, who is leading the mission, began by giving a shout-out to the astronauts&#8217; families. 
“There was a moment about an hour ago where Mission Control Houston reoriented our spacecraft as the sun was setting behind the Earth,” he said from the spacecraft while answering questions from ABC News during the broadcast. “And I don&#8217;t know what we all expected to see in that moment, but you could see the entire globe from pole to pole. You could see Africa, Europe, and if you looked really close, you could see the Northern Lights.  It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks.”
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Wiseman said the astronauts had a busy first few days and that the magnitude of the mission was only starting to set in. He said they had only taken two very quick naps during the first 30 hours of the mission and had only just eaten their first meal together. 
“We had been to the moon before in 1969, 1968 through 1972. It&#8217;s been a long time since we&#8217;ve been back. And I got to tell you, there is nothing normal about this.  Sending four humans 250,000 miles away is a herculean effort, and we are now just realizing the gravity of that,” he said. 
The other astronauts on the mission are pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 
Koch said she hoped any milestone reached by the Artemis II crew would be surpassed by future missions when asked by Fox News reporter Trace Gallagher about the historic reach of the mission. 
“We think that the journey that we&#8217;ve been on, and all of our teams have been on with us, is so much more than just one number, but we also hope that that number just keeps being exceeded and exceeded by the future crews,” she said. 
&#8220;It has been a great couple of days, just learning how to live in Orion,&#8221; Koch told Gallagher. &#8220;Living in Orion isn&#8217;t quite the same as being at home with our families, but, yes, some of the exciting things are the burns that we do.  They kick off with such an acceleration that most things that you see velcroed around that aren&#8217;t actually fastened down, all fall down to the floor of Orion.&#8221;
Koch noted that she was sleeping with her head toward the &#8220;floor&#8221; of Orion.
&#8220;There is no difference between up and down, and so, yes, I&#8217;ve been sleeping with my feet there and my head down here, and it&#8217;s very comfortable,&#8221; she said.
NASA has said that the mission has gone smoothly so far, apart from a brief loss of two-way communications between ground control and the crew due to an issue on the ground. 
Crew members are currently preparing a “lunar targeting plan,” which will guide their observations of the Moon’s surface during a six-hour window on Monday.

MixCollage-03-Apr-2026-07-03-AM-7648

Artemis II Astronauts Send Message From Space As They Head To The Moon

Air and Space

Artemis II

World

NASA successfully launched the Artemis II mission Wednesday evening, sending four astronauts on a historic journey toward the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years and a major milestone in America’s return to deep space exploration.
“Let me begin by congratulating the team at NASA and our brave astronauts on the successful launch of Artemis 2 — it was quite something,” President Donald Trump said at the start of an address following Wednesday’s liftoff. “It will be traveling further than any manned rocket has ever flown … They are on the way and God bless them. These are brave people. God bless those four unbelievable astronauts.”
The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion spacecraft. The launch followed days of final preparations and capped a buildup the White House framed as part of “America’s destiny” in space.
About an hour after liftoff, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman underscored the significance of the moment in a brief post on X, writing, “America’s next leap is underway. Godspeed Artemis II.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
America’s next leap is underway.. 
Godspeed Artemis II 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/x87WuRm9jA">pic.twitter.com/x87WuRm9jA</a>
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAAdmin/status/2039489945866215616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Within minutes of liftoff, Orion reached orbit and successfully deployed its solar arrays, allowing the spacecraft to begin drawing power from the sun. Mission teams quickly transitioned the capsule into flight operations, beginning a series of system checks that will determine the next phase of the mission.
Now that Artemis II is underway, the focus shifts to what comes next. In the first phase of flight, Orion will spend roughly 24 hours in a high-Earth orbit, looping approximately 43,700 miles above the planet. This extended orbit gives astronauts and engineers time to test critical systems, including life support, deep-space communications, and the spacecraft’s maneuverability. 
The crew is also expected to conduct early demonstrations of docking capabilities, an essential component for future missions. If any major issues arise during this phase, NASA retains the option to bring the astronauts home early.
Assuming systems remain stable, Orion will perform a key engine burn to push the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and begin its journey to the Moon. That maneuver is expected to send the crew on a three-day trajectory into what NASA calls the Moon’s “sphere of influence,” where lunar gravity begins to dominate.
During the outbound journey, astronauts will continue testing onboard systems, including next-generation spacesuits designed to sustain life for up to six days in the event of cabin depressurization, part of the mission’s broader goal of validating systems for future deep-space travel.
By Monday, the crew is expected to reach the Moon, where they will conduct a multi-hour flyby. The spacecraft will pass more than 4,000 miles above the lunar surface, offering a rare view of the Moon’s far side, regions that have never been directly observed by human eyes under these lighting conditions. From Orion, the Moon is expected to appear roughly the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.
At its farthest point, Artemis II will travel approximately 252,799 miles from Earth, farther than any human mission in history, surpassing the record set during Apollo 13.
The mission will follow a “free return” trajectory, a safety measure that uses the Moon’s gravity to naturally guide the spacecraft back toward Earth. This path ensures the crew could return home even in the event of a propulsion system failure.
Following the lunar flyby, Orion will begin its return journey, which is expected to take about four days. The mission is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, where recovery teams will retrieve the crew.
NASA officials emphasized after launch that, despite its historic nature, Artemis II remains a test mission above all else. “This is a test mission,” Isaacman said during a press conference after the launch. “We’ll call it a success when they’re in the water safely, and then we’ll start working on the next mission.”
Officials also noted a minor communications issue during launch, clarifying in during the press conference that it originated on the ground and did not impact the rocket or spacecraft.
The mission builds on earlier Artemis I testing and represents a critical step toward NASA’s long-term goals: returning astronauts to the lunar surface and establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon, with eventual missions to Mars.
“This is America and our partners’ return to the Moon,” Isaacman said. For now, with a successful and safe launch, Artemis II enters its most critical phase, not just reaching the Moon, but proving that the systems designed to carry humans deeper into space are ready for what comes next.

KCNpgX8ATtYKPNTcf9aEba-1200-80.jpg

Artemis Successfully Launched To The Moon. What’s Next?

Aerospace

The White House announced Wednesday that the Artemis II space mission, the first crewed flight to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years, is a mission for &#8220;all humanity&#8221; and part of &#8220;America&#8217;s destiny&#8221; to explore the universe.   
The mission is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center at 6:24 p.m. ET. Four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will embark on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back, traveling as far as 252,000 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have gone since the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.  
<iframe loading="lazy" title="LIVE: Artemis II Launch From NASA’s Kennedy Space Center" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W6auobDsgOE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;It is America&#8217;s destiny to be at the forefront of humanity&#8217;s eternal quest for knowledge, and to be the leader amongst nations on our adventure into the great unknown. The human soul yearns for discovery by unlocking the mysteries of the universe,&#8221; said President Donald Trump in a video posted by the White House on the Artemis II launch. &#8220;We&#8217;re a nation of pioneers, and the next great American frontiers is space and we never competed. Now we start again.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TODAY. 🚀
ARTEMIS II. AROUND THE MOON FOR ALL HUMANITY. <a href="https://t.co/A509PHghY8">pic.twitter.com/A509PHghY8</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2039349547181207910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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NASA has invited the public to watch the mission in real time, posting live video of the preparations for the mission.
“Artemis II waits on the pad, ready to carry astronauts potentially farther than any humans have traveled in more than half a century. The next era of exploration begins,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said ahead of the mission. 
The crew is led by Commander Reid Wiseman, a former Navy test pilot, joined by pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 
“Nothing but gratitude for the men and women of this great nation. It is time to fly,” Wiseman said in a social media post. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Nothing but gratitude for the men and women of this great nation. It is time to fly. <a href="https://t.co/n1TGuNt7s9">pic.twitter.com/n1TGuNt7s9</a>
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) <a href="https://twitter.com/astro_reid/status/2039125242010890255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In the final hours before blast off, the launch crew began standard preparations, including cooling the rocket’s plumbing and engine systems and loading propellants into the Space Launch System, which will carry Orion into space. 
The countdown, which began Monday, entered a scheduled hold on Wednesday morning for final system checks. 
“Engineers perform final configuration checks, review system health, and ensure all launch criteria are met. It’s also a window for resolving any minor issues without impacting the overall timeline,” NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/04/01/live-artemis-ii-launch-day-updates/">said</a> in an update. “These holds are standard in complex missions like Artemis II, providing flexibility and confidence as we prepare to send astronauts on a journey around the Moon.”
NASA&#8217;s Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a long-term human presence. A follow-up mission, scheduled for 2027, will test lunar landing systems developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, with a goal of landing astronauts as early as 2028.

MixCollage-01-Apr-2026-07-31-AM-9760

America Attempts Longest Journey Ever From Earth As Artemis II Is Officially Underway

The Media Does Not Want To Talk About This Historic NASA Launch. Here’s Why.

Elon Musk

Legacy Media

Matt Walsh

Medicare

Opinion

<div>
Fifty-eight years after the historic Apollo 8 mission, NASA is embarking on a bold new era of deep-space exploration with Artemis II. This mission signals a renewed American commitment to the lunar environment, transitioning from the robotic &#8220;scouting&#8221; missions of the 1960s and the legendary Apollo landings to a sustainable campaign to establish a permanent lunar base by 2028. 
</div>
<div>
Artemis II is not merely a nostalgic return; it is a record-breaking journey that will push the boundaries of human reach. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman <a href="https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2017213364963819660">wrote</a>, “58 years after Apollo 8’s historic trip around the Moon, NASA is heading back.”
The centerpiece of this mission is its unprecedented distance. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will travel roughly 4,600 miles beyond the lunar far side. In doing so, they will venture further from Earth than any human beings in history, surpassing the records set during the Apollo era. This ten-day flyby is the ultimate test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft, ensuring that the technology is ready to return humans to the lunar surface.
</div>
<div>
The crew is currently in quarantine to ensure mission readiness. Their journey will bridge the 12 men who walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972 and a future where humanity lives and works on another world.
</div>
<div>
Those twelve men included Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from Apollo 11 in 1969, Pete Conrad and Alan Bean from Apollo 12 in 1969, Alan Shepard (the first American ever to fly in space, and who hit two golf balls on the moon) and Edgar Mitchell on Apollo 14 in 1971, David Scott and James Irwin on Apollo 15 in 1971, John Young (the only person to fly Gemini, Apollo and the Space Shuttle) and Charles Duke (who left a family photo on the Moon’s surface) from Apollo 16 in 1972, and Harrison Schmitt and Gene Cernan on Apollo 17 in 1972.
</div>
<div>
Artemis II is the &#8220;opening act&#8221; for the boldest series of missions the world has ever seen. By venturing further than ever before, NASA is proving that American superiority in space remains steadfast. This flight serves as the precursor to Artemis III, which will finally return boots to the lunar soil, specifically at the South Pole, ensuring that the legacy of Apollo is not just remembered but exceeded.
</div>

NASA prepares to launch the Artemis II rocket around the Moon

The Grand Return: NASA’s Quest To Shatter Distance Records And Reclaim The Moon

NASA is working on a fast-track plan to build a small nuclear reactor on the moon in a race to secure space dominance over China and Russia.
The space agency believes it can launch a nuclear reactor to the moon&#8217;s surface by 2030, according to a directive sent by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is also serving as NASA&#8217;s acting administrator, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/05/nasa-under-trump-aims-to-build-nuclear-reactor-on-moon-before-china-and-russia.html">reported</a>. The plan was first reported by <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/nasa-china-space-station-duffy-directives-00492172">POLITICO</a> and then confirmed on Tuesday by Duffy.
A nuclear reactor on the moon would provide a reliable power source for NASA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/">Artemis campaign</a>, which focuses on &#8220;exploring the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars.&#8221; Duffy also warned that if China and Russia achieve their goal to power a lunar base with a nuclear reactor by the mid-2030s, the countries &#8220;could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first.&#8221;
The U.S. lunar reactor would generate at least 100 kilowatts of power, enough to power around 80 American homes. To get the reactor to the moon, the United States would send it aboard a heavy-class lander, a type of spacecraft capable of handling large cargo.
“We’re in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon. And to have a base on the moon, we need energy. And some of the key locations on the moon, we’re going to get solar power, but this vision technology is critically important, and so we’ve spent hundreds of million [of] dollars studying,” Duffy <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/space/5436864-nasa-moon-nuclear-reactor-plan/">said</a> at a press conference.
&#8220;If we’re going to be able to sustain life on the moon, to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important,&#8221; he added. And I would just note that … we’re behind, right? If we’re going to engage in the race to the moon and the race to Mars, we have to get our act together. We have to marshal all of our resources, all of our focus on going to the moon, which is what we’re going to do.”
Duffy&#8217;s directive seeks to find companies that would be able to launch a nuclear reactor to the moon by 2030. The directive marked the first major announcement from Duffy as head of NASA since he took over as acting administrator last month after Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a friend of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, following a public feud with Musk.

Full Moon

NASA Plans To Build Nuclear Reactor On The Moon In Race Against China, Russia

China

Russia

Sean Duffy

U.S.

There’s a lot we can say about our political leaders. Are they corrupt? Yes. Are they power hungry? Yes. Are they a bunch of evil, soulless goblins? Yes. But what may be most significant — the trait that may have the most bearing on the future of our country — is that they are, by and large, extremely stupid.
There is little doubt that we are, right now, led by the dumbest collection of muddle-headed morons that has ever been assembled in our nation’s capital — or any nation’s capital. It is difficult to overstate just how monstrously stupid these people are.
If you doubt that, then please consider this video of Democrat Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
Before we get to the video, you should understand a few things about Sheila Jackson Lee. First, she is a former member of the Science Committee. Second, she is also a former member of the Space and Aeronautics Committee. The third is that she is, once again, a sitting member of congress. In that position, she gave an address on Monday to students from Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, Texas. This address happened on the occasion of the eclipse. In fact — and this is not the really stupid part, though it is a stupid part — she claims that she, as she put it on Twitter, “created the opportunity” for the students to see the eclipse. Lee tweeted: 
<blockquote>Today, I created the opportunity to see a unique science and solar experience for the students at Booker T. Washington High School. As a former member of the Science Committee and former Ranking Member of the Space and Aeronautics Committee, this was an irreplaceable moment in history. There should be more opportunities to introduce science to our diverse and vulnerable communities! So many students came out to see history for themselves! Many remarked “this is the first time I’ve ever seen this” as they made their way to the field. Despite over 90% of Booker T’s students being economically disadvantaged, it has managed to build an enthusiastic environment where students are excited to explore the wonders of space and exploration. The hallmark of this excitement is anchored in opportunity.</blockquote>
Now there’s enough in these few sentences alone to assess that Sheila Jackson Lee has approximately the IQ of a toothpick.
For one thing, she’s somehow taking credit for the eclipse. She seems to suggest that these young people would not have been able to look up at the sky and view this celestial event if not for her intervention. By gathering with the kids and pointing at the sky and saying, “Hey check it out,” she is, apparently, creating the opportunity to look at the sky. Without her, they never would have thought to look at the sky, or known how to look at it.
Second, she seems to chide us for not giving “more opportunities” to “diverse and vulnerable” communities to view events like this. But she doesn’t explain how we’re supposed to create opportunities for diverse communities to see an eclipse in the sky during times when there is no eclipse in the sky. It only happens once every several years. What are we supposed to do about that? I guess we could invite diverse communities to come outside once a month and then put our hands in front of their faces to sort of simulate the effect of an eclipse, but I’m not sure what that would achieve. Sheila Jackson Lee doesn’t elaborate.
Third, as further evidence of her toothpick IQ, she says this: “The hallmark of this excitement is anchored in opportunity.” Now I want to be very clear that this statement means absolutely nothing. There is no way to make sense of that sentence. There is no meaning we can really glean from it. I think that maybe what she’s trying to say is that the kids were excited for the opportunity to watch the eclipse, which Sheila Jackson Lee had somehow created by some unspecified means. But the phrase “anchored in opportunity” is at best clunky and unnecessarily wordy, and the phrase “the hallmark of this excitement” is just incredibly dumb. Together they make a dumb sandwich.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1344-member-of-the-party-of-science-doesn-t-know-what-the-moon-is-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
In fact Sheila Jackson Lee, we can tell from this alone, is the dumbest kind of dumb person. She’s the exact inverse of the smartest kind of smart person. The smartest kind of smart person is someone who understands complex topics but talks about them in simple ways using simple words. On the other end of the spectrum is the dumbest dumb person who tries to use big words to communicate simple ideas, but doesn’t understand the words they’re using, and so they don’t manage to effectively convey even the simplest idea.
So by all of that evidence alone, we already know that Sheila Jackson Lee is a momentous moron. But it’s about to get so much worse.
At this event, before somehow, in an unclear way, providing kids the opportunity to look at the sky, she addressed the crowd of students and gave them a little lesson in astronomy.
Unfortunately, though, she has an understanding of astronomy that is so garbled, confused, and delusional that my four-year-old daughter could easily fact check her. Here’s what she said:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Moon Is Made Of Gas" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-FiGa7qaw2U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So, this sitting congresswoman, who has been a member of the science committee and the space committee, says that the Moon is “made up mostly of gases.” She then juxtaposes the Moon with the Sun, which she says has a “mighty powerful heat” while the Moon is “more manageable.” So she appears to believe not only that the Moon is a gaseous entity but also that it gives off its own light and heat. She very much appears to believe that the Moon is basically a much dimmer, cooler version of the Sun. I’m not exaggerating or trying to be funny here. That’s really what she apparently believes.
And it is needless to say — hopefully needless to say — completely false. The moon is solid. Its surface is rocky. The light it gives off is the light it reflects from the Sun. It does not create its own light. This is a very basic fact about our solar system that every child by first grade should understand.
If my ten-year-old thought that the Moon was made of gas, I would be concerned. That would be a disturbing level of ignorance for a ten-year-old. For a 74-year-old congresswoman it is horrifying. Not to mention baffling. I truly have no idea how you can live through seven and a half decades and never encounter even the most basic facts about the Moon. This is like if a 74-year-old woman declared that the Pacific Ocean is made of chocolate syrup. It’s not just that the belief is wildly off base. It’s that it would seem impossible to maintain such an outrageous misconception for that many years. Yet that is what she has done.
Later that day, Lee responded to the mockery over these comments. She said this: “Obviously I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters. What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity!”
Now, once again, we have a statement here that makes no sense and means nothing. “Foolish thinkers lust for stupidity.” What? What does that mean? It doesn’t mean anything.
She just thinks it sounds insightful, so she said it. Because she is quite literally dumber than a grasshopper. She claims that she was really talking about the Sun, which is the worst excuse she could have offered. If anyone on her team was at least slightly more intelligent than her, they would have suggested that she try to claim that she was referring to the Moon’s atmosphere when she referenced its gases.
The Moon does have a very thin atmosphere made up of helium, methane, and other gases. It would be a hell of a stretch to try to spin it that way, but at least that would be a somewhat workable excuse. Instead she comes up with the least plausible cover story imaginable.
Let’s go back and see what her statement would sound like if you swap in the word “sun” for moon. It would be this: “A full sun is a complete rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. The question is how could we live on the sun? Are the gases such that we could do that? The sun is a mighty powerful heat. It’s almost impossible to go near the sun. The sun is more manageable, and you will see in a moment, well not a moment, but in a couple of years, that NASA is going back to the sun.”
To be clear, that’s what she’s claiming she meant to say. So the spin that this ignoramus came up with is that she didn’t mean to say that stupid thing —she actually meant to say an even stupider thing. Now we have a choice. Either Shiela Jackson Lee thinks that the Moon is made up of gases. Or she thinks that we can live on the Sun and that NASA, in a couple of years, will be visiting the Sun — or rather going back to it, because they’ve already visited it. Pick your poison. And keep in mind that what you just heard was only a 45 second clip of remarks that went on for more than five minutes. Remarks that also featured this claim:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 Close To The Moon" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8aL72NdxZ5o?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
Okay, now I can’t be sure what exactly this lunatic is babbling about, but she seems to be confusing an eclipse with a Supermoon. The latter occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth, which is something that happens not once every 20 years, but a few times every year.
As for the statement that “they will shut the light down,” I honestly have no idea what that’s even supposed to mean. Who is &#8220;they&#8221;? Does she think there are people living on the moon who manually control how much light comes from the Sun? In my entire life I’ve never heard anyone refer to the moon as a “they.” Does she think the Moon is non-binary? We can’t be sure. But she keeps going. Listen: 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 The Solar System Controls All" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tmA1v10iH4s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
The Moon and Sun create our music, she says. That’s obviously asinine but it is the closest she gets to something resembling a coherent thought. The problem is that right before that she claims that there are solar systems “smaller than the Earth.” That would mean that somewhere in the universe there is a star that, together with the planets orbiting it, is smaller than the Earth itself and so small in fact that the orbit of the planets around it is no greater than the diameter of the Earth. For the record, there is no evidence that anything like this exists anywhere in the universe. But it does exist in Sheila Jackson Lee’s imagination. A place where the Moon is not only made up of gases, but is also a planet:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 Live On The Moon" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3HvYAC7lt3k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Now is probably a good time to tell you that this woman graduated from Yale. She’s a Yale graduate, a prominent congresswoman, and a former member of multiple science committees, yet she can’t even bull**** her way through a five minute presentation about the eclipse to a bunch of public school kids without diving headfirst into the most bizarre science fiction anyone has ever heard. This is like what would happen to me if I woke up one day and suddenly found myself standing in front of some sort of conference of mathematicians, expected to give a presentation about calculus. Except that I could probably get out at least one or two sentences before it becomes painfully obvious that I haven’t the slightest clue what I’m talking about. And also that’s calculus. In Shiela Jackson Lee’s case, she was asked to speak at a grade school level about the Moon, and couldn’t do it.
Fortunately she did fact check herself during her remarks, checking with someone to make sure her science was accurate. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="010 Nearly Correct Science 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dDBWcD7ur50?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
She was near it. Yes, about as near as the Earth is to Pluto. Which according to Sheila Jackson Lee is probably about 14 and a half miles or so.
Now, there is no reason to belabor the point any more than I already have. The point is that this woman, quite literally, could not pass a first grade science exam. And yet she is a member of “the party of science,” and has been a prominent congresswoman in that party for 30 years. And lest you think that perhaps this woman has not always been this stupid. Perhaps she is just another member of our ruling political class who is suffering from dementia or some other form of brain damage. Consider that way back in 1997 it was reported that this same congresswoman, then a member of the House Committee on Science, visited the Mars Pathfinder Operations Center in Pasadena, California and asked whether the Pathfinder — on Mars — had been able to find the flag planted there by Neil Armstrong. This question was not caught on camera, so after it was reported Sheila Jackson Lee’s office accused the journalist of racism. But now we know, all these years later, that believing we visited and planted a flag on Mars is actually the least idiotic misconception this woman has about our solar system.
We are ruled by morons. By people who should not be trusted to walk across the room holding a pair of scissors. People who probably have to wear velcro shoes so that they aren’t caught on camera struggling to tie their shoes. These are the people running the country.
The good news is that maybe we can convince them all to board a rocket ship and take a trip to visit the Sun. I hear it&#8217;s nice this time of year. And that would solve a lot of our problems.

Hunter Biden Addresses Being Called To Testify To House Oversight Committee On Capitol Hill

Member Of The ‘Party Of Science’ Doesn’t Know What The Moon Is

Congress

Readers Pass

Sheila Jackson Lee

Texas

universe

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) fired back at critics after she was caught on camera at an eclipse-viewing event telling students that the moon was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-congresswoman-tells-students-the-moon-is-made-of-gas-and-it-gets-worse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made of gases</a> — and she blamed Republicans and their &#8220;lust for stupidity&#8221; for focusing on her obvious error.
During the event, Jackson Lee told students, &#8220;You’ve heard the word ‘full moon.’ Sometimes you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. And that’s why the question is why or how could we as humans live on the moon? Are the gases such that we could do that? The sun is a mighty powerful heat, but it’s almost impossible to go near the sun. The moon is more manageable.&#8221;
Jackson Lee claimed in an X post that she had been referring to the sun at the time, saying, &#8220;Obviously I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters. What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity!&#8221;
She then pivoted to attack Republicans, adding, &#8220;They should be focusing on issues like prenatal care, building more affordable housing, and more reduction of student loan debt as President Joe Biden is &#8230; Also, I care more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner. And, I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue!&#8221;
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Also, I care more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner. And, I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue!
&mdash; Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacksonLeeTX18/status/1777747903542350001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;She was on both the House Science and Space committees. Seriously. She represents a city that is one of the homes for NASA. It&#8217;s called &#8216;space city&#8217; for a reason. Vote better, people,&#8221; Robert Patrick Lewis pointed out.
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She was on both the House Science and Space committees. 
Seriously. She represents a city that is one of the homes for NASA. It&#39;s called &quot;space city&quot; for a reason.
Vote better, people. <a href="https://t.co/pav1CuqAEO">https://t.co/pav1CuqAEO</a>
&mdash; Robert Patrick Lewis (@RobertPLewis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertPLewis/status/1778076038289125488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Just when I thought this story could not possibly get any better …&#8221; Josh Hammer added.
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Just when I thought this story could not possibly get any better …
😂 <a href="https://t.co/zuNCtgXD8R">https://t.co/zuNCtgXD8R</a>
&mdash; Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1778045355076022573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Sheila Jackson Lee said that the Moon is made up of gases but we can live on it because the gases are &#8216;manageable.&#8217; Now she claims she was talking about the Sun, which would mean that she thinks we can live on the Sun,&#8221; The Daily Wire host Matt Walsh posted. &#8220;So her excuse is that she didn&#8217;t mean to say that dumb thing. She actually meant to say a much dumber thing. Either way this woman has the IQ of a strawberry.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sheila Jackson Lee said that the Moon is made up of gases but we can live on it because the gases are &quot;manageable.&quot; Now she claims she was talking about the Sun, which would mean that she thinks we can live on the Sun. So her excuse is that she didn&#39;t mean to say that dumb thing.… <a href="https://t.co/iquRHyNQIo">https://t.co/iquRHyNQIo</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1778027426510999711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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House Judiciary Committee Votes On Articles Of Impeachment

Sheila Jackson Lee Knows Just Who To Blame After She Claims Moon Is Made Of Gases

Politics

Science

The last total solar eclipse to pass over the United States until August 23, 2044, will occur on Monday.
Beginning over the South Pacific Ocean, the total eclipse will be seen near Mazatlán, Mexico, then cross over Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas before heading toward Cleveland, Ohio. It will then pass over Buffalo, New York, northwestern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before it vanishes from the United States.
The last previous total solar eclipse that Americans saw occurred on August 21, 2017. Monday’s eclipse differs from the previous eclipse in various ways; the path of totality — in which Americans can see the total eclipse rather than a partial eclipse, is much wider as its range extends between 108 and 122 miles wide, rather than from roughly about 62 to 71 miles wide, as it was in 2017. The path is wider because the Moon, whose distance from the Earth varies as it orbits our planet, is closer to the Earth today than in 2017.
Additionally, as NASA <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712664565562000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3inJBAzhWgCiUv_PicA5K0">explains</a>:
<blockquote>
In 2017, the Sun was nearing solar minimum. Viewers of the total eclipse could see the breathtaking corona – but since the Sun was quiet, streamers flowing into the solar atmosphere were restricted to just the equatorial regions of the star. The Sun is more magnetically symmetrical during solar minimum, causing this simpler appearance. During the 2024 eclipse, the Sun will be in or near solar maximum, when the magnetic field is more like a tangled hairball. Streamers will likely be visible throughout the corona. In addition to that, viewers will have a better chance to see prominences – which appear as bright, pink curls or loops coming off the Sun.
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Because the sun is nearing solar maximum during Monday’s eclipse, viewers may be able to see sunspots more clearly if they use eclipse glasses.
“When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. You can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector,” NASA warns.
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The last total eclipse Americans could see before 2017 occurred in 1979. The 2044 eclipse will start over Greenland and be seen only by Americans in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Total eclipse of the Sun. The moon covers the sun in a solar eclipse

America Awaits Total Solar Eclipse, The Next One Over U.S. Won’t Be Until 2044

General

United States

The moon is shrinking, and future NASA flights may be profoundly affected by that new reality, a <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad1332" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new study</a> asserts.
As the moon’s metallic core continues to cool after it was formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, the lunar surface — which is not supple but brittle — contracts even more, leaving it more vulnerable to earthquakes, as researchers from the University of Maryland posit. Those earthquakes could prompt landslides that would endanger astronauts on the surface.
“As we get closer to the crewed Artemis mission&#8217;s launch date, it&#8217;s important to keep our astronauts, our equipment and infrastructure as safe as possible,” Nicholas Schmerr, a geologist at the University of Maryland who helped author the study, stated. “This work is helping us prepare for what awaits us on the moon – whether that&#8217;s engineering structures that can better withstand lunar seismic activity or protecting people from really dangerous zones.”
NASA has plans to launch the Artemis III in 2026, the first time man has landed on the moon in over half a century. The flight is planned to land near the lunar South Pole.
“NASA’s Orion spacecraft will be the crew’s ride to and from Earth and into and out of lunar orbit,” NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-iii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a>. “Orion is the only spacecraft capable of returning crews to Earth at lunar reentry velocities. &#8230; Four astronauts will depart from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjc8Ynzg675AhUWkGoFHdHfAc0QFnoECAQQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fexploration%2Fsystems%2Fsls%2Findex.html&amp;usg=AOvVaw2BvvW8Jp9JimXG0SbFUAv0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space Launch System (SLS)</a>, the only rocket powerful enough to send Orion, its crew, and their supplies to the Moon in a single launch.”
“First the crew will launch to Earth orbit where they will perform systems checks and solar panel adjustments on Orion. Then, a powerful push from SLS’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/fs/ICPS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interim cryogenic propulsion stage</a> will help Orion perform a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/to-the-moon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">translunar injection</a> maneuver, setting its course to the Moon,” NASA continues, noting that Elon Musk’s Space X will “provide the human landing system that will transport Artemis III astronauts from Orion in lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back again.”
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“The lunar south pole regions are subjected to global stresses that result in contractional deformation and associated seismicity,” the study noted. “This deformation is mainly expressed by lobate thrust fault scarps; examples are globally distributed, including polar regions. One small cluster of lobate scarps falls within the de Gerlache Rim 2 Artemis III candidate landing region.”

The Moon Spotted In The Netherlands

The Moon Is Shrinking, Could Endanger Astronauts On Planned 2026 NASA Flight

America is falling behind in the race to send man to the moon again: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a> has once again delayed its launch dates, this time citing major safety concerns.
NASA delayed the missions in an <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-shares-progress-toward-early-artemis-moon-missions-with-crew/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> last week, citing unresolved issues including a battery, the heat shield, and a circuitry component responsible for air ventilation and temperature control.
The first crewed mission around the moon, Artemis II, was pushed back to September 2025. The first crewed mission to land on the moon since 1972, Artemis III, was pushed back to September 2026. Artemis II was originally scheduled for this November, and Artemis III was originally scheduled for December 2025.
According to NASA, the Artemis IV mission to land astronauts at the Gateway lunar space station remains on track for 2028. Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight, was originally planned to launch in November 2018 but didn’t launch until November 2022.
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In order to safely carry out our upcoming <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Artemis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Artemis</a> missions to the Moon with astronauts, we are now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II and September 2026 for Artemis III.
Safety is our top priority. <a href="https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E">https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E</a> <a href="https://t.co/VE74OtlUr6">pic.twitter.com/VE74OtlUr6</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1744795716013175212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Artemis mission series has the ultimate goal of preparing for human expeditions to Mars.
NASA officials offered an explanation for the delays in <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?532930-1/nasa-officials-testify-status-return-moon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testimony</a> to the House Science and Space subcommittee on Wednesday.
The subcommittee reiterated the nation’s goal of landing a human crew within the decade, and emphasized the importance of beating other countries in landing the first crew on the moon: the first country there would establish precedence on the conduct and possibility of future lunar activities. Lawmakers called out China specifically.
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William Russell with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) expressed concern that NASA projected a launch of Artemis III within a year after Artemis II.
“One year is not a lot of time to do that learning, turn around and be ready for a September 2026 launch date,” said Russell.
Catherine Koerner, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems development, defended the timeline. Koerner said that America was still leading in the race to the moon.
“We believe that we will be on the surface of the moon before China is, and it’s our intent for that to happen,” said Koerner.
Koerner said that Artemis III vehicle processing would be far enough along prior to the launch date for Artemis II to make it feasible. Koerner noted that NASA’s 11 industry partners signed on to the adjusted launch dates.
“With Artemis, we’re building a capability: not just a launch capability but a capability in cislunar orbit, capability on the surface of the moon over time,” said Koerner.
Michael Griffin, former under secretary of defense for research and engineering for the Department of Defense and former NASA administrator, said that Artemis needed to be restarted in its entirety and would require congressional direction to the executive branch on how to continue. Griffin said that Artemis II was on a realistic schedule, but that Artemis III wasn’t.
“In my judgment, the Artemis program is excessively complex, unrealistically priced, compromises crew safety, poses very high mission risk of completion, and is highly unlikely to be completed in a timely manner to be successful,” said Griffin.
In addition to its testimony on Wednesday, GAO also <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107249?utm_campaign=usgao_email&amp;utm_content=topic_space&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a report on NASA’s delays and remaining major challenges.
GAO stated that they <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreshadowed</a> NASA’s announcement of a delay back in November; they reported that NASA projected an ambitious schedule, had delays to key events, and had a significant amount of remaining technical work.
GAO also noted a lack of transparency with the mission costs: NASA has yet to provide an official cost for Artemis III, despite requesting $6.8 billion in its fiscal year 2024 budget request. Total requests for the upcoming Artemis missions have amounted to at least $38 billion over the next five years. GAO noted that they first reported the lack of fiscal transparency back in 2019, when they discovered NASA didn’t plan on establishing an official cost estimate for Artemis III.
Key partners in the Artemis missions include SpaceX, the company founded and led by X CEO Elon Musk, which is developing a human landing system; and Axiom Space, developing more advanced spacesuits.
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Adding a <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> crew arm for <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> astronauts at launch pad 40 <a href="https://t.co/rQeQiBdE79">pic.twitter.com/rQeQiBdE79</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1721983986883305641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Challenges Persist In Getting Astronauts To The Moon; NASA Again Delays Launch Date

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