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The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago received a new addition to its permanent collection on Thursday (Dec. 1), a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. The capsule delivered supplies and science equipment to and from the International Space Station on two missions under contract for NASA. The first generation craft is targeted to go on display in spring 2023.
Since its opening in 2021, the Space 220 restaurant at Disney's Epcot has given away trading cards with its zero proof (non-alcoholic) drinks and kid's meals. Now in their second edition (the first series of Mercury, Venus and Earth cards were retired in September), the Mars, Jupiter and Saturn sets continue to serve up facts and illustrations about space exploration, food in space and the "sky-high innovations" at Space 220.
China's third crew to live aboard its space station landed back on Earth on Sunday (Dec. 4), after a six-month stay. Shenzhou 14 crewmates Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe worked to complete their country's first multi-module orbital complex, including overseeing the addition of two laboratory modules to form the space station's T-shape configuration. They landed as planned in the Gobi Desert within China's Inner Mongolia.
Before it made its second and last close flyby of the moon on Monday (Dec. 5), NASA's Artemis I Orion spacecraft flew over several of the Apollo landing sites. The uncrewed capsule pointed its cameras towards the lunar surface, but at its distance and without telescope lenses, it was incapable of resolving the lunar module stages and other artifacts left behind. The Orion is now on track to splashdown on Earth on Dec. 11.
The U.S. Naval Academy's Navy Midshipmen will take on their rivals, the U.S. Military Academy's Army Black Knights, while wearing NASA-inspired uniforms at the 123rd Army-Navy Game on Saturday (Dec. 10). A giant leap beyond Gemini astronauts holding up signs rooting for their service to win, the Under Armour garb pays homage to the 54 graduates who went from Annapolis to space, more than those from West Point.
The four LEGO minifigures launched on NASA's Artemis I mission are now on their way back to Earth. If during their historic trip you ever asked "How can I get a set like that?" here is your answer. LEGO did not produce duplicates for sale, but you can still build your own Kate, Kyle, Julia and Sebastian by piecing together parts from previous LEGO building kits.
By coincidence, the last time that astronauts landed on the moon and the first time an Orion spacecraft is set to return to Earth from the moon will share a date in history, separated by 50 years. What mission, Apollo 17 or Artemis I, was the greater challenge? Is it easier to touch down on the moon for a sixth time or to enter Earth's atmosphere with a new never-tried approach?
NASA sent secret messages to the moon on its Artemis I Orion spacecraft. The "Easter eggs," which were in plain sight of the public for the entire mission, were revealed Saturday (Dec. 10). The tradition of including hidden notes on NASA's missions dates back to the Apollo missions that landed on the moon.
After a round-trip journey of about 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km), NASA's Artemis I Orion capsule landed off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula on Sunday (Dec. 11). Over the past 25 days, the uncrewed spacecraft flew to the moon, entered a lunar distant retrograde orbit and then tested its heatshield and a "skip entry" approach before splashing down. The success of the Artemis I mission clears the way for Orion to fly with astronauts on NASA's next missions to launch to the moon.
Did you catch the subtle tip of the cap to Apollo recovery ship history while watching NASA's TV coverage of the Artemis I Orion spacecraft's splashdown on Sunday (Dec. 11)? Commentator Derrol Nail wore a hat aboard the USS Portland that was inspired by the U.S. Navy headwear gifted to the astronauts 50 years ago. Oxcart Assembly made the Artemis cap, working with Tyler, the Creator's Golf Wang and Ebbets Field Flannels.
The first Polish citizen to fly into space, Mirosław Hermaszewski died on Monday (Dec. 12). He was 81. Recruited for the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program, Hermaszewski flew on Soyuz 30 for a week-long mission to the Salyut 6 space station, where he conducted science and medical studies.
Qatar Airways worked with SpaceX to send a pair of World Cup match balls into space on board a Falcon 9 first stage. The soccer balls (aka footballs) reached 76 miles (123 km) high before descending with the booster back to Earth. The airline then delivered to balls to FIFA officials in Doha.
After a 50-year journey that took it from the surface of the moon to being swept up in a coup to being offered on the black market, a small piece of the Apollo 17 goodwill moon rock will finally be formally presented to the people of Cyprus on Friday (Dec. 16). The U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, which currently has the 1.1 gram (0.04 oz) on display, arranged for the handover so it would be in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission.
Blue Origin is celebrating some of its astronauts with new, limited edition bobbleheads. The figures now for sale depict "Mercury 13" pilot Wally Funk, Blue Origin's own Audrey Powers and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of the first American to fly in space and the namesake for the company's New Shepard spacecraft. Each bobblehead is modeled wearing her Blue Origin flight suit, including a name tag and mission patch.
After more than four years collecting data on over 1,300 marsquakes, NASA's InSight probe reached its end on Wednesday (Dec. 21). Managers declared the three-legged lander dead after it twice failed to contact Earth. Mars dust building up on the probe's power-providing solar panels gradually depleted its energy supply to the point it was no longer able to function.
