Free Republic

Carl Weathers, who immortalized the role of Apollo Creed opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky and three of its sequels, has died. He was 76. Weathers’ family announced that the actor died Tuesday. No cause of death was given. “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers,” his family said in a statement sent to multiple news outlets. “He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st, 2024. … Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life. Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and...

The speaker is Eugene "Gene" Cernan an American astronaut who was the last person to walk on the Moon during NASA's Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. My team recorded this interview in 1994. Cernan's first spaceflight was as the pilot of the Gemini 9A mission in June 1966. He served as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 10 in May 1969, a mission that served as a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Cernan and his fellow crew members flew to within 9.7 miles of the lunar surface but did not land. Cernan's most significant achievement came...

A recording of the Apollo 8 astronauts reading from the book of Genesis.

Neither the United States nor its space agency NASA have so far commented on the AI analysis that questioned the Moon Landing by the American astronauts.[Google AI anslysis found that the U.S. Moon photos are fake, but thought images captured by Chines lunar rover are fine.]Moscow: The analysis of some of the photos and images of the U.S. astronauts landing on the Moon using neural networks showed they are fake, Vladimir Putin was told at “Artificial Intelligence World Tour" in Moscow, and the Russian President found it interesting.The video of the analysis result and conversation of the Russian President with...

I saw the Apollo XVII launch. Shortly after midnight, from across the Indian River. A second sunrise, as the world's largest kerosene lantern illuminated clouds and water in a brownish light. Several hundred thousand people went wild, shouting, cheering, dancing, weeping with wild joy. We did not know that the politicians had pulled the plug on the dream. The next time I had that mixture of elated emotions was when the faring came off to reveal ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH9OGQADzkA

Apollo astronaut Col. Frank Borman has died in Billings, Montana, NASA announced. He was 95. “Today we remember one of NASA’s best. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, humanity’s first mission around the Moon in 1968,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Thursday in a statement. “In addition to his critical role as commander of the Apollo 8 mission, he is a veteran of Gemini 7, spending 14 days in low-Earth orbit and conducting the first rendezvous in space, coming within a few feet of...

Achilles, the main character of the Iliad, remains one of the emblematic heroes of Greek mythology and modern literature for his bravery and fierceness in avenging the death of his best friend, Patroclus. Homer’s epic poem, along with The Odyssey, has retained enormous influence on Western literature to this very day, and this is also true for Achilles, the fearless warrior who became the very symbol of gallantry. “Sing, Goddess, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,” is the opening line of the Iliad, the poem that describes a few weeks of the ten-year Trojan War, mainly the many feats...

A team of researchers working with citizen archeologists on the Tzurim Valley National Park sifting project (near Temple Mount) has found a unique ancient gem seal—one that bears the face of the god Apollo. The team, led by Eli Shukron, has been speaking with the press about the unique find and its possible history.Gem seals are flat-faced, carved stones, generally coin-sized. They were used by ancient people as a form of signature. The seal was pressed against a soft material such as wax to leave an imprint of whatever was carved on the stone. Such signatures were used when purchasing...

The first hints that the moon had an Earth-like interior came from NASA's Apollo missions. Data gathered by the lunar landers' instruments suggested that the celestial body was differentiated — or layered with denser material at the center and less dense material nearer the surface — as opposed to uniform rock all the way through. Apollo astronauts even left seismometers on the moon, which later revealed that it experiences moonquakes... However, scientists were only recently able to sort through the massive data sets from the Apollo missions and other lunar probes to get a clearer picture of the moon's insides....

A silver ring unearthed in an Essex field may be connected to a famous Roman jeweller's hoard found in Norfolk in 1985, a historian has said.The ring is inset with a carnelian carving of the god Apollo. It was found by a metal detectorist near Chelmsford...The ring seemed to be from the same workshop as the Snettisham hoard of carved gemstones, she added.The large hoard was found buried in a pot during building work and included 110 unmounted gemstone intaglios - carved gemstones used as seals - silver jewellery and ingots, 110 coins and tools, Its contents are now at...

"The bands were: Revocation, Morbid Angel, and Skeletal Remains." CHICAGO - The roof of the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois collapsed Friday night as severe weather swept through the Chicago area, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. According to reports, a concert was going on at the theater when the roof collapsed. More than 20 ambulances were reportedly called to the scene.

– NASA Day of Remembrance – Each January NASA pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. In 2023, the Day of Remembrance will be observed on Jan. 26, and will also mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003.– Day of Remembrance Video –NASA Remembers Fallen Heroes– Remembering Columbia – The seven-member crew of the STS-107 mission was just 16 minutes from landing on the morning...

Christmas Eve, 1968. As one of the most turbulent, tragic years in American history drew to a close, millions around the world were watching and listening as the Apollo 8 astronauts - Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders - became the first humans to orbit another world.

While orbiting the Moon on Apollo 8, Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968, William Anders said, "We are now approaching lunar sunrise and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light,...

On Christmas Eve in 1968, three astronauts aboard the historic Apollo 8 manned mission to the moon captivated the world by reading the opening verses of the Bible. The message was heard by an estimated 1 billion people on Earth. The Apollo 8 mission, which set forth into space on December 21, 1968, was critical in leading to an actual lunar landing just shy of seven months later. The three astronauts onboard – Air Force Col. Frank Borman, the mission commander; Navy Capt. James A. Lovell Jr., the command module pilot; and Air Force Major William A. Anders – were...

December 24, 1968: Apollo 8 Genesis Reading and Earthrise"We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you."Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast - Genesis Reading (1968)Apollo 8 Genesis readingEarthrise is a photograph of Earth and some of the Moon's surface that was taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission.Earthrise

Genesis 1:1-10Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast - Genesis Reading (1968)Bill AndersWe are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God...

SpaceX and Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk said recently that the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon-landing mission was an “anomalous situation.” What Happened: “The fact that we were able to go to the Moon in '69 was such an anomalous situation, it was like reaching into the future and bringing the technology forward,” said Musk on the "Full Send" podcast. The landings, which saw Neil Armstrong become the first human to step on the lunar surface, were “not the natural pace of technology development,” according to the SpaceX founder. “It’s just that the United States just collectively decided that this...

Italian archaeologists have unearthed 24 beautifully preserved bronze statues in Tuscany believed to date back to ancient Roman times. The statues were discovered under the muddy ruins of an ancient bathhouse in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the Siena province, about 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Rome. Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are said to be around 2,300 years old. One expert said the find could "rewrite history". Most of the statues - which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 bronze, silver and gold coins - date to...

Man aspired to go to the Moon, John F, Kennedy said, 'not because it is easy, but because it is hard.' And photo restorer Andy Saunders has applied that same incredible ambition and determination to painstakingly rework 35,000 photos from the Apollo missions that had been stored in a locked NASA freezer until now. The hauntingly beautiful images kept under lock and key at Johnson Space Center, Houston, show amazing new insights about life on board the rockets and on the surface of the moon. Since the footage was kept in the vaults for so long, almost every Apollo image...