NASA astronauts from Artemis II have photographed a large crater on the dark side of the moon – but viewers only see one thing.
"The Artemis II team captured this image showing the rings of the Orientale basin during their flyby of the moon on April 6," NASA explained in X.
"At the 10th position of the Orientale basin, two smaller craters – which the crew suggested being named Integrity and Carroll – are visible."
After the photo was published, NASA has been flooded with comments from fans who say that Bassini Orientale looks like a smiley face.
"Beautiful as a hippopotamus," one user commented, attaching a focused photo of the bassinet.
Another added: "A smile from the moon."
And a third joked: "This is most likely Doraemon," referring to the Japanese manga character.
To the left of the smiling face, Carroll is also visible – a “bright spot” on the moon that the Artemis II crew requested be named after the late wife of Commander Reid Wiseman.
This stunning image was released just hours after astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen became the first people in more than 50 years to travel around the far side of the moon.
During the six-hour flight, the Artemis II crew reached a distance of over 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth, surpassing the distances of the Apollo missions and setting a new record.
In this way, they became the first people in half a century to see the far side of the moon with the naked eye.
From their position 41,072 miles (66,098 km) above the lunar surface, the moon appeared about the size of a basketball held at arm's length.
Whether on the moon or slices of toast, we often see faces in inanimate objects thanks to a phenomenon called facial pareidolia – a form of apophenia, when people see patterns in random, independent data.
There have been numerous cases where people claim to see religious images and symbols in unexpected places. One of the most famous is the “face on Mars,” captured by one of the Viking orbiters in 1976, which was later discovered to be just a coincidence of sand dune alignments.
After passing the moon, the Orion crew capsule will return under Earth's gravitational pull, with an expected landing in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.
The crew's final challenge will be a hypersonic reentry into Earth's atmosphere, as the capsule will enter the atmosphere at around 25,000 miles per hour (40,200 km/h) before deploying parachutes and landing in the Pacific.
Fortunately, recent weather forecasts suggest favorable conditions for Artemis II during the return.
According to AccuWeather, the southern California coast is expected to have winds of 7–14 miles per hour (11–22 km/h) and waves no higher than five feet.
John Feerick, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, says: "Mission controllers and sea rescue teams will be closely monitoring conditions leading up to the landing. NASA says there should be no rain or storms within 30 nautical miles of the rescue site. Waves should be under six feet and winds under 25 knots for rescue boats." /GazetaExpress/
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