NASA Artemis II: New Moon Images and the Future of Lunar Exploration

NASA has completed the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight to venture around the Moon in 50 years. The mission served as a critical test of deep space systems, establishing the necessary capabilities for future human landings on the lunar surface and eventual crewed missions to Mars.

The mission launched on April 1, 2026, and concluded on April 10, 2026, with a splashdown off the California coast. The total mission duration was 9 days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes.

Deep Space Hardware and Infrastructure

The mission utilized the Orion spacecraft, which is designed to carry and sustain crews during Artemis missions to the Moon and ensure their safe return to Earth. Orion is developed as a primary exploration vehicle for both lunar and Martian trajectories.

To reach the Moon, Orion launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS is a heavy-lift rocket capable of providing more payload mass, volume, and departure energy than any other single rocket, allowing NASA to support a wide range of mission objectives.

Mission Milestones and Records

On April 6, 2026, the crew performed a flyby around the far side of the Moon. During this phase of the journey, mission specialist Christina Koch became the woman farthest from Earth in history.

The crew documented the journey through a series of photographs. On the second day of the mission, commander Reid Wiseman captured an image of Earth shortly after the spacecraft completed the engine burn required to send the crew toward the Moon.

By the end of the fifth day, the crew photographed the Moon through the Orion window as lunar gravity began to exert a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s gravity.

Scientific and Visual Documentation

The flyby on April 6, 2026, provided unique astronomical opportunities. Because the Moon was positioned between the spacecraft and the Sun, the crew witnessed and documented a total solar eclipse.

At 6:41 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 6, 2026, the astronauts captured an image of an Earthset. This image shows a partially lit crescent Earth sinking below the lunar horizon, with the sunlit side displaying blue water and white clouds over the Oceania region.

Additional imagery captured during the seven-hour flyby included:

• Light from several planetary neighbors.
• Long shadows cast along the terminator line, where the lunar day meets the night.
• Detailed views of the Moon’s surface, including overlapping basins, and craters.

These visual records were captured using modern photography to update classic imagery from the Apollo era, providing a new perspective of the lunar far side and the home planet.