NASA Releases Stunning Artemis II Images of Earthset and Moon’s Far Side

NASA has released the first images from the Artemis II mission, capturing unprecedented views of the far side of the Moon and the Earth from deep space. The images were captured on April 6, 2026, as four astronauts performed a historic lunar flyby, traveling farther from Earth than any humans in history.

The crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, flew around the far side of the Moon. During the mission, the Orion spacecraft reached an estimated distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by the Apollo 13 mission.

The ‘Earthset’ and Lunar Observations

One of the primary images released by NASA on the morning of April 7, 2026, depicts Earthset, showing a crescent Earth glimmering in blue and white as it disappeared behind the lunar horizon. This image was captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. ET on April 6.

The Earthset image reveals clouds over Australia and Oceania on the illuminated side of the planet, while the opposite side remains in nighttime. In the foreground of the image, the Ohm crater is visible, characterized by its flat floor and terraced edges.

The flyby lasted approximately seven hours, during which the crew observed the lunar surface from a distance of 4,067 miles. The astronauts worked in two shifts over roughly five hours to capture approximately 10,000 photos of the Moon’s far side, with about 21% of that region illuminated by the sun from their perspective.

The mission’s science team directed the crew to identify specific geological features, including ancient lava flows and impact craters. Notable sightings included the Hertzsprung Basin, which appears as two concentric rings, and the ringed Orientale Basin. According to NASA, the Orientale Basin, one of the youngest large impact craters on the Moon, had never been seen with human eyes prior to this mission.

Solar Eclipse and Deep Space Phenomena

In addition to the lunar surface and Earth imagery, the crew captured a solar eclipse as the Sun moved behind the Moon. Because the Moon appeared large enough to completely block the Sun from the crew’s perspective, the mission experienced nearly 54 minutes of totality.

This unique vantage point allowed the crew to image the sun’s corona—the wispy outer atmosphere—as a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk. The darkness of the eclipse also made stars visible in the images, which are typically too faint to be captured when imaging the bright surface of the Moon.

The Moon really is its own unique body in the universe. It’s not just a poster in the sky that goes by — it’s a real place.

Christina Koch, astronaut and mission specialist

Mission Technicals and Future Timeline

The transit behind the Moon resulted in a communication blackout lasting approximately 40 minutes. Despite this, the crew successfully conducted geological observations of the lunar surface using both their own eyes and high-resolution photography.

The Artemis II crew is currently returning to Earth and is scheduled to splash down off the coast of California on Friday, April 11, 2026.

While Artemis II serves as a critical test of human flight around the Moon, NASA has stated that a landing on the lunar surface is not expected to occur until 2028 at the earliest.