NASA has just carried out something it had never done before in the history of the International Space Station: an emergency trip home for an entire crew because of a medical concern. Four astronauts who had been living and working in orbit splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after their mission was cut short

The goal of the Artemis program is to eventually send Americans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with the longer term goal of achieving missions to Mars. The launch of Artemis II follows the original Artemis launch, which sent a crewless craft into space in 2022.

A Mars spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, has been AWOL. But NASA hasn't given up hope of restoring contact with the MAVEN orbiter.

NASA planetary science division director Louise Prockter conceded that the agency is "very unlikely" to recover its MAVEN Mars orbiter.

Bill Nye has spent the past year warning that deep cuts to NASA would be an "extinction-level event" for American space exploration. Now that Congress has moved to fully fund the agency despite pressure from the White House,