My mother used to make computer cores as a "work from home" side business. As a child I got spending money via un-winding the ones that failed testing so that the magnetic center could be re-used. I got between $0.05 and $0.25 per core depending. Mom got more for the finished ones, of course, though I don't know how much. Her sister was an expert, and did the more complicated kind, some of which ended up in satellites and/or were used by NASA!
They were all done by hand using a kind of treadle-operated frame with a little (crochet!) hook to pull the wires around the cores. The people making them were mostly housewives who did this as a side-job in the 80s and 90s. I don't know if it's still done that way anywhere in the USA today, but the history of computing and space exploration is littered with "women's work" like this.
Well, he's showing the 21st Century US how progressive policies work. The rest of the wealthy, developed nations already know how well they work. And Americans in the 20th century when FDR and LBJ were presidents understood how well they worked.
Reagan and the GOP spent 50 years brainwashing Americans into thinking that the government is the enemy, and we will all be prosperous if we give the rich tax breaks and let the money "trickle down."
And so now we have Trump, who gave the rich huge tax breaks, which led to a spiraling deficit, and Trump cutting back on Medicaid, ACA support, SNAP, and other social benefits in order to have enough moneyto fund ICE, his war, his ballroom, etc.
When are working class MAGA going to realize they've been played by decades of GOP propaganda?
“We understood that the Warren Court was different from the Burger Court, and that there would be advances and counterforces. But we also understood that even Warren Burger thought it was his job to find a principle of decision that was fairly grounded in the constitutional (or legislative) text and history, and that could be applied across the board. United States v. Nixon was just one example of the Court applying “law” and not just partisan politics. That conception is irretrievably broken, and not likely to come back. Shelby County, the Trump immunity decision, Callais, and the post-Callais treatment of Purcell have torn away any illusion that this Supreme Court views its job as law and not politics. As you know, the Court’s dishonesty about the Reconstruction Amendments is particularly horrifying. These decisions, among others, have destroyed much of the work my contemporaries thought that we were doing as lawyers. Even if Democrats somehow achieve a trifecta, abolish the filibuster, expand the Court, and pack it, nobody in the academy or elite bar – or the public – will accept that the Court’s decisions are “law” and not “politics.””
— More on the Fancy Lawyers #5 - TPM – Talking Points Memo
don’t like it when I’m about to board a plane to America and discover it just came from there not one hour ago and is getting sent straight back, like please put this girl in the stables and give her some oats, rub her coat till it shines, she’s earned a rest
After being assembled, our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has passed final tests, and is being prepared to move to our Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where teams will work to prepare it for a launch in early September 2026.
With a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble's, Roman can potentially measure light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime. It will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
The observatory is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer who made cosmic vistas readily accessible to all by paving the way for telescopes based in space.
Want to learn more about Roman? Check out our #Roman Space Telescope tag and visit our mission page.
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This image, released in celebration of Earth Day, shows the terminator – the line between night and day – on Earth. The Artemis II astronauts captured this view on April 2, 2026, during their journey to the Moon.
NASA science improves life on Earth every day. We provide insights on our home planet that can only be gathered from space, which can then be used for disaster response, farming, and more. In addition, our observations of Earth and the technologies we develop provide the foundation needed to explore and sustain human life on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Download this year's Earth Day poster.
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I've had the same editor for 23 years, since Looking for Alaska, and every single time I'm close to finished with a book, I ask her, "If I died tomorrow, would it still come out?"
With Hollywood, Ending (my eighth book), she said that yes, it would still come out around eight months ago. So in that sense, it has been finished for a while. Its life has not been contingent on my life.
But as of today it is really finished, or at least as finished as an un-copyedited manuscript can be, which means I now need to start figuring out how to talk about it, and how/whether to talk about the places where the story touches my life and so on.
(All novels are, broadly speaking, autobiographical. It's not like some bird sits on your shoulder and whispers the story into your ear. How much of the autobiography to confess is a question that has long confounded me.)
So as of today, the book is no longer really this Fun Thing I Work On Sometimes, which is what it's been since 2017; it is now This Thing That People Are Going to Read, which is in equal measures terrifying and thrilling.
This view from the Artemis II Orion spacecraft reveals a heavily cratered portion of the far side of the Moon. They vary in size, and in some areas, there are even craters within craters. The lighting here enhances contrast across the terrain, highlighting differences in surface features and giving insight into the Moon’s geologic history.
For more imagery from the mission, visit our Artemis II Multimedia Page.
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Over approximately 10 days, our Artemis II crew successfully completed a voyage around the Moon. They gave us stunning photos of the far side of the Moon, Earth, and a solar eclipse, along with inspirational messages, laughs, and even a few tears. Let's recap the Artemis II mission.
First step: fit check.
Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen got suited up and had their spacesuits checked to make sure they were ready to go to space.
Once their custom-fit suits were checked and the astronauts were ready, they walked out to greet the crowd at our Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After saying hi to everyone, including their families, the quartet made their way onto the Orion spacecraft that would carry them to the Moon.
The astronauts entered Orion and completed more checks. Next, the closeout crew closed the final hatch on Orion.
Then, it was time for the big moment – well, the first big moment of the mission: Liftoff!
Orion was on its way to the Moon, and the astronauts aboard had plenty to do.
They exercised…
and conducted interviews…
all while showing the camaraderie and collaboration that make missions possible.
And that means Rise, too! The little plush zero gravity indicator was a constant companion throughout the mission.
Finally, it was time for them to go around the Moon and observe its far side. As the astronauts began to describe features of the Moon that they saw, they had a heartfelt moment when suggesting that a crater be named after Reid's late wife, Carroll.
During the lunar flyby, the foursome experienced a solar eclipse that only they could see!
All throughout the mission, there were many moments of "Moon Joy."
After the crew completed their observation duties, it was time to start the journey back home.
On April 10, the Artemis II astronauts safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the mission to a triumphant end.
These GIFs are just a taste of the amazing imagery and memorable moments from Artemis II. Relive it all on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/NASA
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On April 6, 2026, the Artemis II astronauts flew around the Moon, observing the far side – which we never see on Earth thanks to tidal locking – with their own eyes and with cameras.
See more of the Moon:
A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon’s horizon.
Earth setting behind the Moon as seen by the Artemis II crew. Over half the left side of the image is filled by the gray lunar surface, pocked with craters.
A close view of the Moon. Jagged circles of craters dot the gray surface, fading to dark on the left side of the image.
A close view of the edge of the Moon. Jagged circles of craters dot the dark gray lunar surface, which arcs across the image.
A close-up view of the Moon, filling most of the frame. Along the left side of the image, the terminator divides the illuminated and darkened sides of the Moon.
A close-up view of the Moon, filling most of the frame. Along the left side of the image, the terminator divides the illuminated and darkened sides of the Moon.
Earth just as it set behind the Moon, as seen by the Artemis II crew. The dark gray surface of the Moon, pocked with craters, arcs from the bottom left corner of the image to the top right.
Check out more photos from the lunar flyby, including astronaut selfies and the solar eclipse only they experienced.
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The Artemis II crew captured this view of an Earthset on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon.
The image is reminiscent of the iconic Earthrise image taken by astronaut Bill Anders 58 years earlier as the Apollo 8 crew flew around the Moon. The Apollo 8 mission was the first crewed spacecraft to circumnavigate the Moon.
For more imagery from the mission, visit our Artemis II Multimedia Page.
Join Us for the Artemis III SLS (Space Launch System) Rollout
Are you passionate about social media and communications?
Do you love to create content for an audience?
Are you a fan of new, unique experiences?
If you said yes, this NASA Social event is for you. Apply now to attend the rollout of the Artemis III SLS core stage as it is prepped to head from our Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to our Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Get your application in by noon EDT on Friday, April 10!
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Over the last nine years, I've been trying to write a novel about love, fame, and the machine that grinds private experience into public attention. I've given up writing it many, many times. But today, I get to tell you: Hollywood, Ending--my first novel in nine years--is available for preorder now.
It's a story about big stuff--falling in love, living with trauma, navigating the relationship between the authentic self and the performed one--and writing it has often been challenging. But it's also been FUN. After The Fault in Our Stars was published, I kind of forgot how fun writing could be, and this story allowed me to work my way back to true joy in writing, and I'm so grateful for that experience and I really hope you love this book. I am so excited to share it with you.
And yes, you can preorder a signed copy now at http://hollywoodendingbook.com, because I'm signing 82,000 copies of the first printing, because I simply cannot resist the urge to sign books. Hollywood, Ending comes out on September 22nd.
While we're looking up at the Artemis II astronauts journeying to the Moon, they're looking back home at us.
In this image, Earth peeks through the capsule window, reminding us that a view like this relies on the ingenuity and hard work of countless people back home.
In the second image, we see our home planet as a whole, lit up in spectacular blues and browns. A green aurora even lights up the atmosphere.
Follow the Artemis II astronauts on their journey to the Moon:
