Jon Mattos

MISSION COMPLETE! Welcome back home, @astro_reid @Astro_Christina @AstroVicGlover @Astro_Jeremy #ArtemisII 🚀

Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! 🫶 The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end.

The large dark patches are called Maria (Latinfor sea), and are large lava plains. They were made by the impacts of large asteroids and comets billions of years ago that made huge impact basins - like, really large craters. This allowed magma from the interior to reach the surface and fill those basins with lava. The reason why they are mostly on the Earth-facing side of the moon is still not fully understood. We know that large objects would have hit the moon randomly, and indeed the largest impact basins is on the far side. (Google the South Pole-Aiken Basin!) so the question is really why did the basins on the near side fill with lava, but not the ones on the far side? Many planetary scientists believe themoons’ crust on the near side is thinner than the far side, making it easier for lava to make it to the surface. It may also be that the chemical composition of the magma is slightly different there, making it easier to flow through fractures in the impact basins. But scientists are still not sure, and it’s still a matter of debate and investigation. - Professional astronomer on Reddit.

why does only one side of the Moon have the large dark patches?🧐🤔

He spent way too much time entertaining this guy. The second he mentioned his daughter he should have did what he needs to do and let him know he’s not welcome

@washghost1 NOW.

@Metropoles "Não levo isso para um campo moral. Eu abriria essa discussão (sobre liberação de drogas) de estado a estado. Querem discutir? A partir de um determinado grau de IDH, você discute. Eu não vou discutir droga no Maranhão, vou discutir analfabetismo." Renan Santos em 15/12/2025.

➡️ “Contradição”: colunista avalia consumo de cogumelos por Renan Santos Veja mais no programa Agora Metrópoles, no nosso canal no YouTube

If you're interested in orbital mechanics, this is a really nice breakdown of the Earth-to-Moon calculation flow. Check it out:

@manarmn__ Please add credits to the original: x.com/TMU_SSL/status…

The Math Behind Artemis II

@TMU_SSL @manarmn__ I'll definitely take a look at this. Nice work!

@manarmn__ I’m technically not supposed to have my slides quoted like that, but thanks for sharing them! Since you’ve gone that far, why not add a concrete calculation example as well? Apologies that it’s all in Japanese—just let an AI handle the translation and have fun with it. #TMU_SSL

❤️

@ThePrimalDino I wouldn't complain about it.

Who's you pick for the Artemis III crew?

Please do this @astro_reid @Astro_Christina @AstroVicGlover @Astro_Jeremy

If I went to space I'd probably listen to "M83 - Solitude" on repeat while staring out at the infinite void. 🌌

The toilet manufacturer:

It’s been an incredible experience watching Artemis II from launch day all the way through the mission. I’m truly grateful to witness this historic moment in my lifetime — and I’m already dreaming of the day I can see a launch like this in person. Thank you, @NASA, for sharing this unforgettable journey with the world. 🚀

🚨 Artemis II Orion spacecraft is currently 227,756 miles away from Earth and 49,768 miles away from the Moon. Earlier today, the spacecraft exited the lunar sphere of influence.

My new favorite photos from the Artemis II mission. ❤️

Source: sciencefocus.com/space/22-mindb…

22. Some very special soil is flying The previous Artemis I flight carried several tree seeds on board, which have since been planted and grown across the US. Soil taken from around the roots of 10 of these trees is flying on board Artemis II, completing the cycle of flying to the Moon, being planted, growing and returning to space again.

Mind-blowing facts about NASA’s Artemis II Moon mission. A thread 🧵👇