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Artemis II Lunar Flyby

The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal regions of the Moon's far side, as well as an in-space solar eclipse. Released April 7, 2026, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen captured the images during the mission’s seven-hour flyby on April 6, 2026, showing humanity’s return to the Moon’s vicinity.

art002e015231 (April 6, 2026) – The Artemis II crew captures a faint view of a crescent Earth above the horizon...
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art002e016198 (April 6, 2026) – NASA astronaut and Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover pictured here in the Orion spacecraft during...
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art002e016136 (April 6, 2026) – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is seen taking...
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art002e009288 (April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during...
Earth setting behind the Moon’s horizon. Set against the blackness of space, the dark gray surface of the Moon arc across the image in the foreground. Beyond, a blue and white crescent Earth, oriented like a frown, fills the center of the image, with one tip disappearing beyond the lunar limb.
art002e009285 (April 6, 2026) – Our planet draws closer to passing behind the Moon in this image captured by the...
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art002e016354 (April 8, 2026) The Artemis II crew captures a thin lunar crescent as they travel back to Earth.
art002e016354 (April 8, 2026) The Artemis II crew captures a thin lunar crescent as they travel back to Earth.
art002e009567 (April 6, 2026) - NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the Moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis...
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art002e010782 (April 6, 2026) - In this view captured by the Artemis II crew on the Orion spacecraft, a wedge...
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art002e009283 (April 6, 2026) – Captured by the Artemis II crew, the heavily cratered terrain of the eastern edge of...
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art002e010208 (April 6, 2026) - As the Artemis II crew flew over the terminator, the astronauts described this boundary between...
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art002e009566 (April 6, 2026) - NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground, lit up by the Sun. A first...
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art002e009302 (April 6, 2026) – The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen...
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art002e009298 (April 6, 2026) – A close-up view from the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II crew’s lunar flyby on...
In this photo, we see a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk. The science community is investigating whether this effect is due to the corona, zodiacal light, or a combination of the two. 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. 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.
art002e009301 (April 6, 2026) – Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this...
The Moon eclipsing the Sun, as seen from the Orion capsule. The dark gray sphere of the Moon is surrounded by a white glow, suspended in the blackness of space. The glow is diffuse, fading from a brighter white circle right around the Moon. Small dots of white light are scattered across the image.
art002e014225 (April 6, 2026) – Seen from afar, Earth appears as a small, delicate waning crescent suspended in the darkness...
art002e014225 (April 6, 2026) – Seen from afar, Earth appears as a small, delicate waning crescent suspended in the darkness of space, captured by the crew during the Artemis II mission. Only a thin sliver of the planet is illuminated, resembling the familiar crescent phases often seen when observing the Moon from Earth. Despite its distance, faint hints of Earth’s blue tones and cloud patterns are visible, offering a striking perspective of our home planet from deep space.
art002e009573 (April 6, 2026) - The Moon, seen here backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse on April 6,...
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art002e009281 (April 6, 2026) – The Artemis II crew captures a portion of the Moon coming into view along the...
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art002e021278 (April 6, 2026) – Echoing the iconic Earthrise photo captured by the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968, during the...
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art002e009287 (April 6, 2026) – Earth sets at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in...
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art002e009289 (April 6, 2026) – The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II...
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art002e009562 (April 6, 2026) - The Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground lit up by the Sun. A waxing...
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art002e009294 (April 6, 2026) – Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen prepare for...
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art002e012183 (April 6, 2026) - On the first shift during the lunar flyby observation period, the Artemis II crew captured...
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art002e009299 (April 6, 2026) – Captured from the Orion spacecraft near the end of the Artemis II lunar flyby on...
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art002e016204 (April 6, 2026) – NASA astronaut and Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover pictured here in the Orion spacecraft during...
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art002e009284 (April 6, 2026) – Earth appears tiny as the Moon looms large in this photo taken by the Artemis...
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art002e009282 (April 6, 2026) - A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim...
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art002e012178 (April 7, 2026) - A shot from early in the Artemis II lunar flyby, taken with a smaller aperture...
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art002e012278 (April 6, 2026) - The Moon seen peeking above the window sill of the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis...
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art002e012279 (April 6, 2026) - A view from the window of the Orion spacecraft approximately 9 minutes before Earthset during...
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art002e012028 (April 6, 2026) - The Artemis II crew captured a close-up snapshot of the near side of the Moon...
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art002e009293 (April 6, 2026) – Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch gather images and observations of...
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art002e012632 (April 6, 2026) - The Artemis II crew captures the Moon's curved limb during their journey around the far...
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art002e009279 (April 6, 2026) – During their lunar flyby observation period, the Artemis II crew captured this image at 3:41...
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art002e009582 (April 6, 2026) – In this view, most of the Moon’s surface is illuminated as captured by the Artemis...
art002e009582 (April 6, 2026) – In this view, most of the Moon’s surface is illuminated as captured by the Artemis II crew during their flyby. To support scientific analysis, the lunar science team requested a series of images of the same scene using different exposure settings—including overexposed, underexposed, and standard images. Each variation highlights different aspects of the surface: brighter exposures can reveal faint features in shadowed regions, while darker exposures help preserve detail in highly reflective areas. Together, these images provide complementary data that allow scientists to better analyze the Moon’s surface composition, texture, and geologic features.
jsc2026e020490 (April 6, 2026) - Pictured from left to right, Angela Garcia, Dr. Kelsey Young, and Dr. Trevor Graff, the...
The team in the Mission Control Center during the Artemis II lunar flyby, talking while looking at a number of huge screens displaying visuals from the capsule. They are sitting behind a bank of computer screens and gesturing at the larger set of screens, facing away from the camera.
art002e009295 (April 6, 2026) – Astronaut Jeremy Hansen captures an image through the camera shroud covering window 2 of the...
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art002e012090 (April 6, 2026) - In this view of the Moon, the Artemis II crew captured an intricate snapshot of...
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art002e012093 (April 6, 2026) - Hertzsprung Basin comes into view with its distinctive two concentric rings of mountains, revealing the...
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art002e012673 (April 6, 2026) – As the Artemis II crew passes the Moon during an observation period, the lunar landscape...
art002e012673 (April 6, 2026) – As the Artemis II crew passes the Moon during an observation period, the lunar landscape sharpens into focus: a terrain scattered with craters and shadows stretching beneath the black expanse of space.