NASA leaders have “high confidence” in the Artemis II crew spacecraft’s heat shield ahead of Friday’s historic return.

The shield is a critical part of the Orion capsule, protecting the crew from exposure to lethal temperatures – reaching up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit – during their high-speed descent.

There were problems with the heat shield on the first Artemis flight, which had no human passengers. Gases that generated inside the shield’s outer material were not able to vent as expected, causing cracks.

Since then, the shield has undergone extensive testing and Amit Kshatriya, the space agency’s associate administrator, says his confidence in the tech is backed up by engineering and flight data.

“The engineering supports it, the Artemis I flight data supports it, all of our ground tests support it, our analysis supports it,” he told reporters at a briefing from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, “and tomorrow, the crew’s going to put their lives behind that confidence.”

The astronauts, including NASA’s Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen were said to be in “high spirits” as they started their journey to Earth following a record-breaking slingshot around the Moon.

A splashdown in the Pacific set to conclude their test flight on Friday.

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How the Artemis II astronauts will get home

Julia Musto10 April 2026 01:45

Check out these cool pictures of the moon from the Artemis II mission

Julia Musto9 April 2026 23:45

The song that Artemis II started their day with

Julia Musto9 April 2026 23:32

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NASA posts stunning shot from Orion spacecraft

Julia Musto9 April 2026 23:02

Canadian Artemis II crew member Jeremy Hansen discusses science on Orion

Julia Musto9 April 2026 22:34

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NASA seeing ‘small leak’ in propulsion system

There is a small leak in the Artemis II propulsion system, Jeff Radigan, the flight director of Artemis II, told reporters on Thursday.

The two-part system uses fuel and an oxidizer: a substance that causes another substance to burn.

“We are seeing what is a small leak in our pressure system,” he said, adding that the “leak is internal to the system, across some of our valves.”

The crew still needs to characterize the leak to see what, if any, modifications they might need to make in the future.

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Julia Musto9 April 2026 22:04

‘We are good to go’

“We are good to go,” Branelle Rodriguez, the Artemis II Orion vehicle manager, told reporters on Thursday.

She said that the Orion spacecraft remains “healthy.”

“Everything looks really, really well to continue on,” added Rodriguez.

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Julia Musto9 April 2026 21:44

A view from the Artemis II crew shows stunning Earthshine

Julia Musto9 April 2026 21:40

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NASA shares Artemis II return times

Jeff Radigan, the flight director of Artemis II, announced several times of note ahead of the Orion crew’s splashdown.

The crew module and service module will separate at 6:33 p.m. local CT. There will be a communications blackout at 6:53 before parachutes deploy at 7:03 p.m.

Splashdown is planned for 7:07 p.m.

Julia Musto9 April 2026 21:06

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Every system ‘depends on the final minutes of flight’

“Every system we’ve demonstrated over the past nine days, life support, navigation, propulsion, communications, all of it depends on the final minutes of flight,” Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, said Thursday afternoon.

“We have high confidence in the heat shield and the parachutes and the recovery systems we’ve put together. The engineering supports it, the Artemis I flight data supports it, all of our ground tests support it, our analysis supports it,” he continued, “ and tomorrow, the crew’s going to put their lives behind that confidence.”

“The crew has done their part. Now we have to do our’s,” said Kshatriya.

Julia Musto9 April 2026 20:53

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The industry body, UK Pet Food, estimates that we spend some £380 million a year on bird food. Separate figures suggest that amounts to more than 150,000 tonnes annually – enough to sustain three times the breeding populations of the ten commonest garden species if they relied on it alone all year round.

Motorists across the country, including Oxfordshire, are being encouraged to top up before tomorrow evening as fuel costs are expected to shift.

This comes in the wake of falling oil prices, triggered by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a temporary truce between the United States and Iran.

The two countries announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to a fortnight-long ceasefire, which includes restoring passage through the strategic waterway.

READ MORE: Asda responds as UK drivers hit with fuel station shortages

This passage is part of a route that carries around a fifth of the world’s daily oil shipments.

News of the agreement sent international markets into retreat, with crude values sliding sharply.

The Strait of Hormuz has been closed since hostilities flared in late February, a disruption which sent petrol prices soaring worldwide.

According to experts, despite the immediate fall, it will take some time for drivers to feel the full benefit of the reopening at the pump, while many have predicted that for the prices to significantly drop will take around two weeks.

As prices often rise towards the end of the week, ensuring to restock before then will benefit your wallet, with 5pm on Thursday being the suggested cut-off time in a fresh report by JOE, which states drivers have been “urged” to fill up by then.

READ MORE: Sainsbury’s issues statement to UK drivers amid fuel shortages

In featured quotes in the report, William Fletcher, CEO of Car.co.uk, said: “Prices usually rise on Thursday evening and stay elevated through Sunday.

“If you can plan ahead and fill up mid-week instead, you’ll typically save 2-3 pence per litre, which adds up quickly over a year of driving.”

A statement from Scrap Car Comparison added: “When it comes to saving money on fuel, the advice is simple: fill up early in the week.

“We typically see prices rise towards the weekend, with Friday and Saturday being the most expensive days due to increased leisure travel.”

This comes after reports that Tesco in Banbury was out of fuel last week, while others said there was no diesel at several other petrol stations in Oxfordshire.

READ MORE: Morrisons responds on fuel shortages affecting UK drivers

These issues were widespread across the UK as drivers faced empty pumps at forecourts across Norfolk, as the price of petrol and diesel continues to rise.

The Eastern Daily Press reported that the disruption to supplies caused by the Iran conflict in the Middle East was having an impact on fuel.

Similarly, in North Yorkshire, there were also reports of fuel issues as well as in other places across the country.

This newspaper approached several supermarket brands to see how Oxfordshire stores’ petrol stations have been affected.

READ MORE: Police statement after shopper poos on shelf at The Range

Asda was one of those contacted, but the supermarket giant refused to comment on the situation at this time.

When approached, Morrisons informed this newspaper that MFG owns and operates all of the chain’s fuel stations.

MFG then refused to comment at this time when subsequently contacted.

Sainsbury’s issued a comment, which referred to the stores across the UK as a whole, informing drivers that sites would be resupplied if shortages occurred.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We are actively monitoring stock levels in all locations and continuing to resupply sites where needed.”

The man became unresponsive after taking the drugs in December 2025

A man who supplied drugs to a man who later died has been jailed. Thomas Kelly, 33, met the other man and another person at a Cambridge property in December last year.

Kelly brought along Ketamine, which all three of them took. Later that evening, Kelly noticed the other man had passed out and wasn’t breathing.

The other person began CPR while Kelly called an ambulance. Emergency services attended, but the man in his 40s was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kelly, of Green Park, Chatteris, was arrested on suspicion of supplying a class B drug. He later pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to eight months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on April 2.

Detective Constable Abbie Ellis, who investigated, said: “This was a truly tragic incident where a man has lost his life, all because of drugs. Many think class B drugs are safer, and relatively ‘risk free’, but this case shows the dangers.

“Drugs ruin lives and we will do all we can to bring those who supply them to justice. My thoughts are with the deceased man’s family at what must be an incredibly difficult time.”

Do you want more of the latest Cambridgeshire news as it comes in from across the county? Sign up to our dedicated newsletter to make sure you never miss a big story from Cambridge or anywhere else in the county. You can also sign up to our dedicated Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in.

But will there be one coming to you soon?

Lidl was unable to get a standard off-sales licence for a shop in Northern Ireland.

Instead, it is building a pub in Dundonald in east Belfast, as its licence comes with the legal right to operate an off-sales section.

A stroke of genius, many pug goers with a penchant for pastries would agree.

The pub, which will accommodate up to 60 customers, will not operate in-store, but will be in separate premises next door.

Imagine what the middle aisle of the pub will be like. https://t.co/irJbcVToTc

— Colin the Dachshund (@DachshundColin) April 9, 2026

Regional Managing Director for Lidl Northern Ireland Gordon Cruikshanks said: “Lidl has been a part of the Dundonald community for more than 20 years and in that time our shoppers and residents have been unable to avail of Lidl Northern Ireland’s full product range due to licensing restrictions.

“After six years in the planning process, we’re delighted to confirm today the development of a brand new public house and associated off-sales located adjacent to our Dundonald store, which will enable customers to enjoy access to our award-winning range of wine, beer and spirits, some of which are crafted right here in Northern Ireland.

“With the rising cost of living, many more shoppers are voting with their feet and choosing to shop at Lidl and, within the Dundonald community in particular, shoppers and residents deserve equal access to our full range of products.

“Today’s announcement and our investment in realising this project over the last number of years reflects our long-term commitment to Northern Ireland and our loyal customer base in Dundonald.”

Will Lidl open more pubs across the UK?

In Northern Ireland, supermarkets face two main hurdles which pertain to the sale of alcohol.

First, they must acquire a licence that has been “surrendered” by another business, such as a pub that has closed, a system which effectively caps the total number of licensed premises.

Second, they have to satisfy what is known as the “inadequacy” test, demonstrating that the existing number of licensed outlets in the area is insufficient to meet public demand.

Lidl was unable to meet this test for a standard off-licence.

But, it did pass the test for a pub licence, because two bars near the store have shut in recent years.

These very specific local conditions mean Lidl is not about to roll out pubs across its 13,000 stores worldwide.

Would you like a Lidl pub near you? Let us know in the comments.

Emergency services were called to Elizabeth Way on Tuesday (April 7) after a blue VW Golf was involved in a crash just after 4am. 

Cleveland Police said the smash took place following a short police pursuit – with two passengers, a man, 34, and woman, 42, in the vehicle being taken to hospital. 

The man who sadly died in the single car crash has now been named as 44-year-old Duane Michael Birdsall.

The 42-year-old woman injured in the crash, has now been arrested and charged with robbery in connection with an incident the same morning.

The 34-year-old man taken to hospital with serious injuries remains in hospital.

The woman appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, April 8 and was remanded until her next appearance on Tuesday, May 5.

A spokesperson from Cleveland Police said: “Our thoughts are with Duane’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“Detectives are still appealing for anyone with information or dashcam footage relating to the collision to get in touch.”

The road was closed for hours following the crash in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A spokesperson for North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said: “We were called to a road traffic incident at the junction of Elizabeth Way and Tees Road, Hartlepool at 4.16am on April 7.

“We dispatched three double crewed ambulances, a clinical team leader, a specialist paramedic, two vehicles from our Hazardous Area Response Team and were supported by Great North Air Ambulance’s medical car.

“One patient was taken to North Tees Hospital and one patient was taken to James Cook Hospital with a doctor on board.”

Melania Trump has given a press conference at the White House denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and calling accusations linking her to him ‘completely false’ and ‘baseless lies’

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Melania Trump has demanded that “lies” connecting her to Jeffrey Epstein must cease.

The First Lady has flatly denied any association with Epstein or awareness of his criminal activities, insisting the “stories are completely false” and branding allegations of her involvement as “smears”.

Speaking at a press conference, Melania declared those smears “need to end today”, adding: “They are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

Delivering a statement at the White House, she said: “My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success.” She was adamant that she had “never been friends with Epstein”.

“Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach,” Melania explained, reports the Mirror.

“My email reply to Maxwell cannot be characterised as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note.

“I am not Epstein’s victim, Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump, I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in my book Melania.

“The first time I crossed path with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings.

“Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me having been circling on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe, these images and stories are completely false. I am not a witness or a name witness in any of Epstein’s crimes.”

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She went on to reiterate that she had no knowledge whatsoever of Epstein’s crimes, stating: “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity, I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane and never visited his private island.

“I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors or other repulsive behaviour. The false smears about me from mean spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name, to gain financially and climb politically, must stop.”

The first lady also urged Congress to arrange a public hearing focused on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, giving them an opportunity to testify before lawmakers and have their accounts formally recorded in the congressional record.

“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”

Her unexpected message arrived just as Donald Trump and his administration had seemingly managed to put the Epstein scandal behind them, after it had rocked the political landscape for months.

The controversy had gradually been eclipsed by the conflict in Iran and other pressing matters – but the First Lady’s remarks could well thrust it back into the political spotlight once more.

“Anyone involved in producing or selling this should be ashamed,” he said

An SDLP councillor has hit out after a badge depicting the controversial Moygashel Bonfire with effigies of asylum seekers in a boat on top of flames has gone on sale.

Last year, the bonfire made headlines globally after a boat with a number of mannequins wearing life jackets was placed at the top and set alight, in an apparent reference to refugees who cross the English Channel from France to reach the UK.

It also featured banners reading “stop the boats”, “veterans before refugees”, and “stop illegal immigration”.

Cllr Malachy Quinn said: “I’ve been made aware of this badge, and let’s be absolutely clear: this is hate being packaged and sold for profit.

“There is nothing cultural, nothing defensible, and nothing acceptable about it. It is deliberately divisive, inflammatory, and designed to target vulnerable people.

“Anyone involved in producing or selling this should be ashamed. Our community is better than this. Call it out. Report it. Refuse to fund it.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The Friday letters page discusses the inherent problems with previewing video games, as one reader salutes the release of Rhythm Paradise Groove on Nintendo Switch 1.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Evolution or decline?
As we crawl towards the release date of GTA 6 I find myself asking what some people may think is a silly question: will it be better than GTA 5? Obviously, the graphics will be better and I’m sure there’ll be more things to do and a bigger open world and all that, but none of those things make one game better than another.

The things I like best about GTA 5 are the characters and dialogue, the design of the open world, and individual missions. And with so many people leaving and joining Rockstar in the more than a decade since GTA 5 there’s no guarantee any of those things will be as good in the new game.

I’m particularly worried about the dialogue, because both the main writers have left and that’s got to have a big effect on how the game comes out. There’s very little dialogue in the two trailers so far, so it’s very hard to tell whether it’s any good or not.

There’s also the stuff like the driving and combat, which has never been great in GTA and often has strange control systems. That could be improved or it could go the other way. Thinking about it, I’d hate to work on the game because there’s just so much that could go wrong, I wouldn’t want to be making these decisions.
Purple Ranger

Portable market
Just saw some stats for Switch 2 sales in Japan and apparently it’s almost caught up with the PlayStation 5 already, at 5 million consoles to 7.5 million. It’ll easily pass it this year and that blows my mind considering Sony had an almost five year head start.

I don’t think the reasons are very hard to work out: the PlayStation 5 is much more expensive (the Switch 2 is cheaper in Japan than here) and it’s not portable but it’s still a really bad number. It makes me think that the PlayStation 6 portable is something that Sony wants specifically for Japan and they don’t necessarily care how well it does in the West. The rumours about it certainly make more sense to me now, seeing how bad the PlayStation 5 is doing.
Onibee

State of Sony
The Witcher 3 DLC and the Assassin’s Creed 4 remake are all well and good but that means another State of Play with little or no first party Sony games. The last one was good but that barely had any either. We do at least have a few on the docket at the moment – Saros, Marvel’s Wolverine, and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet – but it’s still not much and definitely not enough to make it clear that Sony has done some big U-turn on their previous policy. It’s just slightly better than the last couple of years.

If the God Of War spin-off is announced in the summer that will probably be it and I just don’t know how excited I am at playing as Kratos’ wife, who we saw for five minutes tops in the last game. I’ve seen people suggest that Sony are holding most things back for the PlayStation 6 but man, what a wasted generation this was.
Cuit

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Classic sequel
Just a heads up to say the Broken Sword Smoking Mirror: Reforged Kickstarter has gone live, where you can pre-order a digital or physical collector’s edition of the remake of the second Broken Sword game.

I don’t know where they go after this game for remakes, as although the other Broken Sword games are very good, in my opinion, they are not classed as classics as Broken Sword 1 and 2 are. I’ve just backed for my physical edition and my name in the credits!
Andrew J.
PS: I noticed the date has possibly slipped for the Pragmata amiibo. Originally, I think it may have been due out on 17th April 2026, at the same time as the game, but it seems to have recently slipped to June 11th 2026. I presume the game is not delayed and it is just a manufacturing delay with the amiibo.

GC: The game’s not delayed.

Time travel movie
So just got back from watching Mario and I have to say I really enjoyed it. We watched it in 4D and I really think that added a lot to it. Watched a few movies that way, including the last Mario film, but this time felt extra good.

The seats never stopped moving and the vibration, air blasts, and water sprays really made it for me, the 3D effects were pretty good too. Maybe I wouldn’t enjoy it as much watching at home but overall a great experience. And made me want to dust off my neglected Switch 2 for some Mario Kart.
P B

Strategy wizard
As the Spectrum is getting Inbox attention, I feel compelled to mention what, to me, are two of its’ best games; Chaos: The Battle Of Wizards and Rebelstar, both by Julian Gollop. Chaos was up to eight-players on a single screen, with wizards given random spells to deploy creatures that could be real or illusory and is still a blast today. Top tip: always cast Disbelieve if a player manifests a dragon.

Rebelstar was Gollop honing the turn-based, limited action point strategy game that would later become XCOM. It’s one of the best value games ever, as it released on the budget Firebird label for £1.99, which wasn’t a great deal of money 40 years ago in 1986. Highly addictive for 1 or 2 players and very innovative.

Chock full of features, such as opportunity fire, diverse reloadable weapons, complex inventory management, healing items and melee weapons, as well as the ranged combat. Like XCOM, you also cared about your troops, and should Rita Rumpo be killed the turn after using AP on a reckless missed shot, that left them insufficient points to get back to cover, you were gutted.

What Gollop wrung out of the 48K Spectrum was mind-blowing. A tired Raider could even pick up a coffee token and get a brew from the moonbase vending machine or equip a lawnmower and mow the garden area if fed up of blasting robots.
Reg Smythe

Press ZR to pay respects
Can’t say I’m particularly interested in Rhythm Paradise Groove but I’ll salute it anyway as Nintendo’s last first party game on the original Switch. An amazing console and I think it’s definitely going to be regarded as one of the best ever the more distance we get from it.

The Switch 2 has got a lot to live up to in terms of its legacy, and I don’t think anyone would try and argue its first year has been as good as the Switch 1’s. It’s not been terrible, but it looks worse compared to what’s come before. Personally, I think it’s been a mistake not to have a proper Nintendo Direct before now.
Coolsbane

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Wrong impressions
Old Man Yells at Cloud incoming…

Reading your Samson review and it’s making me think that the preview sessions game journalists go to are just a big scam, or the write-ups that follow them are (not you, I genuinely believe you’re one of the good guys).

I read multiple previews of Samson gushing about how promising and exciting it was. How on earth can we believe any of that with how the reviews have panned out. I don’t think subjectivity can even be argued in this case, it’s being slammed across the board.

Same with Crimson Desert. Most of the previews I read failed to mention how truly atrocious the controls and writing, etc. were, and some of these people had hours of hands-on time. It’s disingenuous and sells people on an experience without the full facts.

It makes me enjoy your content even more, and I’d add GameRanx on YouTube to this too.
RJ

GC: Thanks. Previews are always difficult to judge, since you always have to bear in mind the game isn’t finished yet. We didn’t do previews for Samson or Crimson Desert, though, so we can’t comment on that. However, in our Resident Evil Requiem review, we did point out that our preview of it was based on the absolute best parts of the game – although, of course, we didn’t know that at the time. Not that the end result wasn’t still excellent, but what we played wasn’t an entirely fair representation of the final game.

Inbox also-rans
When I see a quote about GTA 6 making players millionaires I just want to roll my eyes but the worst thing is it’s probably true, if it’s anything like Roblox. I just hate to think of the kinds of games and modes they’re going to be making with it.
Hoover

I was going to ask if Samson is coming to consoles, but then I read the whole review and, you know, it’s fine. Keep it on PC.
Spatz

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: What is your favourite retro video game format?

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MORE: Games Inbox: What was the best ZX Spectrum game?

A broken-down train has brought disruption to services in Bolton and Blackburn today (April 9).

Services between Bolton and Blackburn are disrupted in both directions due to a broken down train. Delays and diversions are expected until 3.30pm.

A spokesman for Northern said: “We’ve got a broken down train between Bolton and Blackburn.

“Train services running through these stations may be delayed.”

Affected stations include Ramsgreave & Wilpshire, Bromley Cross, Hall I’ Th’ Wood, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria and Mills Hill.

Northern has lifted ticket restrictions in the affected areas, allowing passengers to use any available Northern service to their destination during the disruption.

The rail operator requested replacement road transport between Bolton and Blackburn, with passengers advised that journey times could be extended by up to 60 minutes.

Passengers have been directed to www.nationalrail.co.uk for real-time updates and to re-plan their journeys.

Northern also reminded passengers that those delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim compensation by visiting www.northernrailway.co.uk/delayrepay.