“Lunar Selfie”– Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA
NASA’s Artemis II crew has transmitted the first official images from humanity’s latest journey around the Moon, capturing breathtaking and scientifically valuable views during a seven-hour flyby of the lunar far side on April 6.
The newly released photos—part of thousands taken by astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—include detailed shots of craters, ancient lava flows, and surface fractures, along with rare visuals of an in-space solar eclipse and Earth rising over the lunar horizon.
Scientists say the images, including reports of meteoroid impact flashes, are already helping refine understanding of the Moon’s geology and will guide future missions. More photos are expected as the crew continues its return trip to Earth.
Artemis II is scheduled to splash down off the coast of California on April 10, marking a major step toward NASA’s long-term goal of sustained lunar exploration—and eventual human missions to Mars.
Image Gallery: Artemis II Lunar Flyby Photos
The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal regions no human has ever seen before—including a rare in-space solar eclipse. Released Tuesday, April 7, 2026, the photos were taken on April 6 during the crew’s seven‑hour pass over the lunar far side, marking humanity’s return to the Moon’s vicinity. All images credited to NASA.
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface.
The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.
In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.
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Shadows at the Edge of Lunar Day: 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.
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A New View of the Moon: 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.
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Presidential Call: The Artemis II crew – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Astronaut Jeremy Hansen (far left) and NASA astronauts Christina Koch (center left), Reid Wiseman (center right), and Victor Glover (right) – pauses to wave after a live conversation with President Donald J. Trump following their historic lunar flyby during Flight Day 6. They are pictured on the screens of the White Flight Control room at NASA’s Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA / Image Credit: ROBERT MARKOWITZ NASA-JSC
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Artemis II in Eclipse: Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth. The corona forms a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk, revealing details of the Sun’s outer atmosphere typically hidden by its brightness. Also visible are stars, typically too faint to see when imaging the Moon, but with the Moon in darkness stars are readily imaged. This unique vantage point provides both a striking visual and a valuable opportunity for astronauts to document and describe the corona during humanity’s return to deep space. The faint glow of the nearside of the Moon is visible in this image, having been illuminated by light reflected off the Earth.
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Artemis II Total Solar Eclipse, Partial Frame: A close-up view from the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II crew’s lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, captures a total solar eclipse, with only part of the Moon visible in the frame as it fully obscures the Sun. Although the full lunar disk extends beyond the image, the Sun’s faint corona remains visible as a soft halo of light around the Moon’s edge. From this deep-space vantage point, the Moon appeared large enough to sustain nearly 54 minutes of totality, far longer than total solar eclipses typically seen from Earth. This cropped perspective emphasizes the scale of the alignment and reveals subtle structure in the corona during the rare, extended eclipse observed by the crew. The bright silver glint on the left edge of the image is the planet Venus. The round, dark gray feature visible along the Moon’s horizon between the 9 and 10 o’clock positions is Mare Crisium, a feature visible from Earth. We see faint lunar features because light reflected off of Earth provides a source of illumination.
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A Setting Earth: The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. In this image, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater shows terraced edges and a relatively flat floor marked by central peaks — formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater.
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Shadows Across Vavilov Crater: 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 400 mm, as the crew flew around the far side of the Moon.
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It’s All in the Details: 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.
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The Edge of Two Worlds: Our planet draws closer to passing behind the Moon in this image captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby, about six minutes before Earthset. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over muted blue in the Australia and Oceania region. The lines of small indentations on the Moon’s rugged surface are secondary crater chains. These structures are formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact.
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A Moment with the Moon: In this view of the Moon, taken by the Artemis II crew at 2:19 p.m. EDT, just before the crew began their observation period, Orientale basin is visible in the center, with a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the Moon’s crust in an eruption billions of years ago. This 600-mile-wide impact crater lies along the transition between the near and far sides and is sometimes partly visible from Earth. The small, bright crater to its left is Byrgius, which has 250-mile rays extending out from its basin.
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A Sunrise for Orion: The Sun is rising at the left edge of the Moon, ending a nearly one-hour total solar eclipse on April 6, 2026. While the Sun hid behind the Moon, the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, pictured in the forefront, saw a Moon shrouded in night. This offered a perfect opportunity to look for rarely seen phenomena. And the moment delivered. Calling down to Earth at 9 p.m. ET the crew reported seeing six impact flashes, which are light flashes that are created when meteoroids, traveling many thousands of miles per hour, smash into the Moon’s surface.
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Lunar Flyby in Mission Control: NASA Flight Directors Diane Dailey, Pooja Jesrani, and Paul Konyha pictured in the White Flight Control Room during the Artemis II crew’s lunar flyby. Credit: NASA / Image Credit: ROBERT MARKOWITZ NASA-JSC
