Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
There is a fiery controversy about a new movie, First Man, which recounts NASA’s mission to put a human on the moon. The film omits Neil Armstrong, played by Ryan Gosling, planting the US flag on the moon.
US senator Marco Rubio called this exclusion “total lunacy”. Fellow senator Ted Cruz accused the film of being “wrong” and “denying American exceptionalism”. Others, including Gosling, have defended the decision to omit the flag-planting as a reflection of Armstrong’s belief that it was an achievement for all humanity rather…
![Small dome in the Compton-Belkovich region (61.33 ?N, 99.68 ?E). Evidence indicates a volcanic origin for this and other intriguing features in the region. Incidence angle is 64?, Sun is from the SSW, image is ~510 m across. NAC image number M139238146L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].](https://images.newscientistbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07172644/SEI_163208069.jpg)
