Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and designated it an "F" mission. While John Young remained in the Command and Service Module orbiting the Moon, Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan flew the Apollo Lunar Module (pictured) to within 14.4 kilometers (7.8 nmi) of the lunar surface, the point at which powered descent for landing would begin on a landing mission, before rejoining Young in the Command and Service Module. While in the Lunar Module, Stafford and Cernan photographed the site where Apollo 11 would land two months later. After orbiting the Moon 31 times over 61.6 hours, Apollo 10 returned safely to Earth, setting a record that still stands for the highest velocity achieved by a crewed spacecraft. Both Young and Cernan would walk on the Moon later in the Apollo program; Stafford flew again in 1975 on Apollo–Soyuz.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1936:

In a crime that captivated Japan, Sada Abe strangled her lover, cut off his genitals, and carried them around with her for several days until her arrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sada_Abe

1952:

First Indochina War: Viet Minh forces overran a French and Laotian garrison at Muong Khoua, leaving only four survivors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Muong_Khoua

1965:

Eli Cohen, a spy who is credited with gathering significant intelligence used by Israel during the Six-Day War, was publicly hanged in Syria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Cohen

1996:

Ireland won the Eurovision song contest for the seventh time, still the highest number of wins for any country before Sweden tied it in 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1996

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

limbo: 1. (Roman Catholicism, uncountable) The place, thought to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the place where each category of souls exists, regarded separately. 2. (by extension) 3. (countable, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status. 4. (slang, archaic, uncountable) Jail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup. 5. (uncountable, obsolete) Synonym of Hades or Hell 6. (uncountable, obsolete) Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”) 7. (countable, military, nautical, weaponry) A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels. 8. (transitive, rare) To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status. [...] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/limbo

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as a criticism of themselves. They will pardon much unconventionality in a man who has enough jollity and friendliness to make clear, even to the stupidest, that he is not engaged in criticizing them.   --The Conquest of Happiness https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Happiness