Artemis II Astronauts Capture Side of the Moon That’s Rarely Seen

Mission specialist Christina Koch is illuminated by her camera screen as she takes photos of the lunar surface, right.

The NASA Artemis II astronauts recorded history yesterday by traveling further from Earth than humans before them — 248,655 miles (400,000 kilometers) — and on their epic journey, the crew has been capturing awe-inspiring photos of rarely seen celestial sights.

NASA has today released a treasure trove of images taken by the Artemis II crew yesterday (April 6) as they orbited the Moon in their Orion spacecraft. It includes stunning photos of an “Earthset”, and the Moon eclipsing the Sun.

During their lunar flyby observation period, the Artemis II crew captured this image at 3:41 p.m. EDT, showing the rings of the Orientale basin, one of the Moon’s youngest and best-preserved large impact craters. These concentric rings offer scientists a rare window into how massive impacts shape planetary surfaces, helping refine models of crater formation and the Moon’s geologic history. At the 10 o’clock position of the Orientale basin, the two smaller craters – which the Artemis II crew has suggested be named Integrity and Carroll – are visible. These features highlight how crew observations can directly support surface feature identification and real-time science.

A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The right portion of the image shows the transition from smooth material within an inner ring of mountains to more rugged terrain around the rim. Vavilov and other craters and their ejecta are accentuated by long shadows at the terminator, the boundary between lunar day and night. The image was captured with a handheld camera at a focal length of 400mm, as the crew flew around the far side of the Moon.

“Earthset.”

CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is seen taking images through the Orion spacecraft window early in the Artemis II lunar flyby.

Since they were on the far side of the Moon, the crew also took close-up and middle-distance photos of an area humanity doesn’t usually get to see. As NASA notes, the near side of the Moon is identifiable by the dark splotches that cover its surface, created early in the Moon’s history when it was volcanically active.

“The large crater west of the lava flows is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides,” NASA explains. “The Artemis II crew are the first people to ever see the full Orientale Basin. Everything to the left of the crater is the far side, the hemisphere we don’t get to see from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits round us.”

In this fully illuminated view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible on the right. It is identifiable by the dark splotches that cover its surface. These are ancient lava flows from a time early in the Moon’s history when it was volcanically active. The large crater west of the lava flows is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Orientale’s left half is not visible from Earth, but in this image we have a full view of the crater. Everything to the left of the crater is the far side, the hemisphere we don’t get to see from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits round us. | NASA

Just over half of the Moon fills the left half of the image. The near side, characterized by the dark patches of ancient lava, is visible on the top third of the lunar disk. Orientale basin, a round crater in the center with a black patch of ancient lava in the center, is wrapped in rings of mountains. The round black spot northeast of Orientale is Grimaldi crater, and Aristarchus crater is the bright white dot in the midst of a dark grey lava flow at the top of the image.

The Artemis II crew captures a portion of the Moon coming into view along the terminator – the boundary between lunar day and night – where low-angle sunlight casts long, dramatic shadows across the surface. This grazing light accentuates the Moon’s rugged topography, revealing craters, ridges, and basin structures in striking detail. Features along the terminator such as Jule Crater, Birkhoff Crater, Stebbins Crater, and surrounding highlands stand out. From this perspective, the interplay of light and shadow highlights the complexity of the lunar surface in ways not visible under full illumination. The image was captured about three hours into the crew’s lunar observation period, as they flew around the far side of the Moon on the sixth day of the mission.

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch gather images and observations of the lunar surface to share with the world during the lunar flyby on the sixth day of the mission. The crew spent approximately seven hours taking turns at the windows of the Orion spacecraft as they flew around the far side of the Moon. At closest approach, they came within 4,067 miles of the Moon’s surface.

Earth sets at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the Moon. Orientale basin is perched on the edge of the visible lunar surface. Hertzsprung Basin appears as two subtle concentric rings, which are interrupted by Vavilov, a younger crater superimposed over the older structure. The lines of indentations are secondary crater chains formed by ejecta from the massive impact that created Orientale. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.

Captured by the Artemis II crew, the heavily cratered terrain of the eastern edge of the South Pole-Aitken basin is seen with the shadowed terminator – the boundary between lunar day and night – at the top of the image. The South Pole-Aitken basin is the largest and oldest basin on the Moon, providing a glimpse into an ancient geologic history built up over billions of years.

The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission are now headed back toward Earth. They’re scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

Image credits: NASA