Axios

Artemis II's four astronauts have officially gone where no one has gone before, setting on Monday a new distance-from-Earth record for human spaceflight.

Why it matters: Artemis II broke Apollo 13's 248,655-mile record, set over 55 years ago on that ill-fated ship's emergency flight home.

• Upon crossing that mark, Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman named a lunar crater "Carroll," after his wife who passed away from cancer in 2020.

The most consequential force reshaping geopolitics and business can be captured in one word: asymmetry, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes in his new weekly Axios C-Suite newsletter.

• The small can now destroy the big. The cheap can neutralize the expensive.
• Drones proved it on the battlefield. AI is proving it everywhere else.

Why it matters: Every CEO now faces the same question the Pentagon does: Are you the $3 million missile or the $35,000 drone?

A growing number of software developers say AI coding tools are frying their brains.

The big picture: The most popular agentic AI systems have triggered something that looks a lot like addiction among some of tech's highest performers.

NASA just posted one of the first photos from Artemis II, capturing "Spaceship Earth" in all its blue-and-white glory.

• In the photo, taken by mission commander Reid Wiseman: Two auroras (top right and bottom left), plus "zodiacal light" in the bottom right.

Tesla's electric vehicle sales disappointed investors in the first quarter — but CEO Elon Musk doesn't seem to mind as he sets his sights on an AI-powered future.

Why it matters: EV sales still pay the bills for Tesla, providing critical cash flow to fund costly endeavors like humanoid robots and self-driving car technology.

AI is reshaping corporate strategy at record speed, yet many responsible for overseeing it aren't keeping pace.

Why it matters: That gap is increasingly a reputational and governance risk, not just a technical one.

NASA's Artemis II Moon mission successfully launched from Florida's John F. Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday afternoon at 6:35pm ET.

Why it matters: Artemis II's planned crewed lunar flyby is set to mark the closest humanity has come to the Moon since the Apollo days.

Delivery robots roll through cities with ease — but can't open doors or push elevator buttons, driving new AI that lets them ask humans for help.

Why it matters: People and robots will increasingly interact in the real world — at work, stores and even on the street. But the technology needs to be seamless to avoid chaos and frustration.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday is opening a call for proposals to help U.S. companies bundle and export end-to-end AI systems to international markets.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's AI strategy is based partly on a bet that the best way to win the AI race is to embed U.S. tech deep inside other countries' digital infrastructure.

SpaceX has filed confidentially for an initial public offering, per multiple reports, with expectations that Elon Musk's company will go public this summer.

Why it matters: This could be the largest IPO ever, eclipsing oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019.