NASA launched Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, marking the first crewed mission beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972. The Orion spacecraft is set to fly around the far side of the Moon on April 6. Traveling aboard the Space Launch System, the most powerful operational rocket, the crew will reach speeds near five miles per second and journey roughly 250,000 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have traveled before. The mission is a key step in NASA’s broader lunar program, with plans to test lander systems alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin in low Earth orbit next year, ahead of a targeted crewed landing near the Moon’s south pole by 2028, as global competition in lunar exploration intensifies.
Image Credit: NASA
True Spies
The Swinging Spies
How do you turn the American dream into a cover story?
In the late Cold War, Karel Koecher arrived in New York as a Communist sleeper agent with a near-impossible brief: penetrate the highest levels of American intelligence. With his wife Hana at his side, he didn’t just blend in; he thrived. The couple embedded themselves in Manhattan’s elite circles, building a life of academia, luxury, and access.
Koecher’s path to the inside began at Columbia University, where he moved among future policymakers before applying to the Central Intelligence Agency. Against the odds, he passed a polygraph and secured a role translating intercepted Soviet communications. From inside Langley’s orbit, he quietly passed intelligence back to Czechoslovakia’s StB and ultimately the KGB.
But espionage wasn’t their only pursuit. The Koechers became known for their nightlife, moving through New York’s social and sexual underground as comfortably as they did intelligence circles. It was excess layered on deception, ambition fused with risk. Their double life unraveled in the 1980s. Arrested and later exchanged on Berlin’s Glienicke Bridge, they returned home expecting recognition. Instead, suspicion followed.
Join author Benjamin Cunningham in this week’s podcast selection, 'The Swinging Spies', to go undercover in New York and infiltrate the CIA.
Take on immersive games and challenges at SPYGAMES! Test your team's skills and strategy, compete to climb the leaderboards, and recharge with food and drink in your own private space hosted by a dedicated staff member.
Book your next team social.
Take on immersive games and challenges at SPYGAMES! Test your team's skills and strategy, compete to climb the leaderboards, and recharge with food and drink in your own private space hosted by a dedicated staff member.
Apple Inc. turned 50 on April 1, marking a milestone for one of the most valuable companies in history, with a market capitalization of around $3.7 trillion.
The company began in 1976, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne set out to bring computing beyond businesses and into everyday homes. Their early breakthrough, the Apple II, helped define the personal computer era, followed by the Macintosh in 1984, which introduced a more accessible graphical interface.
After a period away, Jobs returned in the late 1990s and helped steer a new wave of products, working closely with designer Jony Ive. Devices like the iMac, iPod, and later the iPhone expanded Apple’s reach far beyond computers, embedding its technology into daily life. The iPhone is now used by over 1 billion people.
Image Credit: Apple
History
The Sunken Flagship
What happens when a warship disappears beneath the surface mid-battle?
Archaeologists have located the wreck of the Dannebroge, Denmark’s flagship lost during the Battle of Copenhagen, marking the discovery on its 225th anniversary. The vessel, commanded by Olfert Fischer, was found roughly 49 feet underwater in Copenhagen Harbor using sonar and underwater drones.
The ship met its end during a prolonged clash with the British fleet led by Horatio Nelson, as Britain moved to weaken Denmark’s ties to Napoleon Bonaparte. During the fighting, the Dannebroge exploded, leaving thousands dead or wounded across the battle and 19 of its crew unaccounted for.
Divers have since recovered fragments from the wreck, including cannons, clay pipes, shoes, uniform insignia, and part of a sailor’s jawbone. With construction planned nearby, teams are now working quickly to document and recover what remains in the harbor’s low-visibility waters.
Give your party guests an unforgettable experience designed to engage, entertain, and inspire. Our dedicated staff will be on hand to help, and you'll even get your own private space to celebrate.
Host your birthday at SPYSCAPE or SPYGAMES.
Give your party guests an unforgettable experience designed to engage, entertain, and inspire. Our dedicated staff will be on hand to help, and you'll even get your own private space to celebrate.
How do you steal masterpieces in under three minutes?
Four masked men made off with more than $10 million worth of paintings from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in a tightly coordinated raid. Entering through the front door on March 22, the group moved quickly, triggering an alarm as they worked before escaping by climbing a fence.
The works taken span some of the most recognizable names in modern art: Paul Cézanne’s Still Life With Cherries, Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Les Poissons, the most valuable of the three at around $7 million. A fourth painting was reportedly left behind when the alarm cut the operation short.
Officials described the theft as highly organized, with the entire heist lasting just minutes. Despite the scale of the loss, the museum remained open and kept the incident from the public for a week while authorities began their investigation. No suspects have been identified.
Try brain-teasing challenges at SPYSCAPE and pulse-racing fun in SPYGAMES.
.gif?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Newsletter_ads_17s_202511170654_ayxtp-ezgif.com-optimize%20(1).gif)
