Artemis 2: NASA Unveils Rare Far Side Moon Photos and Return Journey

NASA’s Artemis II mission has captured a series of unprecedented images of the moon’s far side and the Earth, marking a significant milestone in the first piloted lunar mission since the Apollo program ended over 50 years ago. The images, released by the agency between April 3 and April 5, 2026, provide critical data and visual documentation as the four-person crew conducts a lunar flyby to prepare for future crewed landings.

The mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. After remaining in Earth orbit for several days, the crew received authorization to proceed toward the moon on April 3, 2026.

Observations of the Lunar Far Side

On April 4, 2026, the crew captured a new photograph of the far side of the moon. According to NASA, the image depicts the moon oriented upside down, with the South Pole facing upward. A primary feature of this image is the Orientale basin, a massive crater that is difficult to observe from Earth.

NASA stated that the Artemis II voyage is the first time humans have seen the Orientale basin in full. The basin serves as a scientific baseline that researchers can use to compare other impact craters on various rocky bodies in the solar system, ranging from Mercury to Pluto.

The four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The crew is tasked with observing the Orientale basin from multiple angles throughout the lunar flyby.

Technical Objectives and Mission Scope

While the imagery is a highlight for the public, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that the primary objective of the mission is the collection of data and observations. This data is essential for evaluating the performance of the Orion spacecraft.

We want to gather as much data as we possibly can for that. Of course, there’s various science experiments, there’s lunar observations, but learning as much as we can about Orion is critically important, because Artemis III is a year away.

Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator

The mission is designed as a test flight to set the stage for Artemis III. The data collected during this flyby will assist NASA in preparing for a crewed lunar landing, which the agency aims to achieve as early as 2028.

On April 5, 2026, NASA reported that the Artemis II crew was approximately 64,000 miles from the moon. The mission is on track to break the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, surpassing the distance reached during the Apollo 13 mission.

Diverse Crew and Visual Documentation

The Artemis II crew represents a diverse group of explorers, including the first woman, the first Black man, and the first Canadian to travel to the vicinity of the moon. The crew consists of three Americans from NASA and one astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

In addition to the far side images, the crew captured a photo of the moon’s near side on April 4, 2026. This image highlights ancient lava flows, which appear as dark patches at the center and right of the moon’s surface and are unique to the side facing Earth.

The crew also captured images of the Earth, including a coucher de Terre or Earth-set, as viewed from the far side of the moon. These images were shared via social media updates between April 3 and April 5, 2026, as the astronauts prepared for their historic flyby around the lunar surface on April 6, 2026.

The astronauts are now heading back toward Earth after completing their circuit of the moon, having spent a significant portion of the journey observing the celestial environment from the windows of the Orion capsule.