The Artemis II astronauts have been taking in magnificent views of the far side of the moon never before witnessed while setting a new distance record for humanity, and they have also captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.
Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.
Astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they were extracted from their Artemis II mission's Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA)Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha after being extracted from the Orion spacecraft after splashdown, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA)Crew members of the USS John P. Murtha join NASA and U.S. Navy officials as they gather in front of the Artemis II capsule in the bay area before docking at Naval Base San Diego, April 11, 2026. (Gregory Bull/AP)Artemis II astronauts Jeremy Hansen, from left, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman are welcomed on stage in Houston during a news conference following their mission, April 11, 2026. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle)The Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crew members aboard approaches the surface of the Pacific Ocean for splashdown off the coast of California, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA)The Artemis II crew capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean after the crew's flyby of the moon, April 10, 2026. (NASA)A crowd cheers at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif., the successful splashdown of the Artemis II spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026. (Ariana Drehsler/The New York Times)People look up at the sky during a watch party for the return of NASA's Artemis II in Coronado, Calif., April 10, 2026. (Gregory Bull/AP)In an image provided by NASA that was captured by the Artemis II crew, Earth sets behind the moon during the mission's lunar flyby April 6, 2026. (NASA)In this image provided by NASA, The Artemis II crew captured from lunar orbit, the moon eclipses the sun on April 6, 2026. (NASA)Craters dot the surface of the moon, April 6, 2026. (NASA)The Artemis II crew photographed a faint view of a crescent Earth above the horizon on the moon’s far side, April 6, 2026. (NASA)Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover in the Orion spacecraft during the lunar flyby, April 6, 2026. (NASA)An Artemis II crew photograph shows a wedge of the moon in nighttime visible in the foreground as the sun is setting, April 6, 2026. (NASA)An Artemis II crew selfie midway through their lunar observation period on April 6, 2026. Clockwise from bottom are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. (NASA)The moon is backlit by the sun during a solar eclipse on April 6, 2026, photographed by one of the cameras on the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings. (NASA)Cmdr. Reid Wiseman peers out the window of the Orion spacecraft just as his first lunar observation period of the Moon begins during a lunar flyby, April 6, 2026. (NASA)In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew captured this image of the Vavilov Crater on the moon during a lunar flyby, April 6, 2026. (NASA)Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels toward the moon on April 2, 2026. (NASA)The Artemis II crew captured this image of Orion spacecraft pictured from one of the cameras mounted on its solar array wings, April 7, 2026. (NASA)This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from of the Orion spacecraft's window after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026. (NASA)The Artemis II crew captured this image of the Milky Way on April 7, 2026. (NASA)In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew captured this view as the Earth sets behind the moon during a lunar flyby, April 6, 2026. (NASA)Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover peers out one of the Orion spacecraft's windows looking back at Earth ahead of the crew's lunar flyby, April 6, 2026. (NASA)An image provided by NASA on April 6, 2026, shows the moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth) visible at the top half of the disk, identifiable by the dark splotches. At the lower center is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Everything below the crater is the far side. (NASA)Astronaut Christina Koch is illuminated by a screen inside the darkened Orion spacecraft on the third day of the agency's Artemis II mission, April 3, 2026. (NASA)The exterior of the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis II mission en route to the moon on April 3, 2026. (NASA)A photo of Earth taken by NASA’s Artemis II astronaut Cmdr. Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule, April 3, 2026. (Reid Wiseman/NASA)Astronaut Christina Koch preps for the lunar flyby activities after completing aerobic exercise on the flywheel device, during the the Artemis II crew's journey to the Moon, April 4, 2026. (NASA)This image provided by NASA on Monday, April 6, 2026, shows a view of the moon taken by the Artemis II crew before going to sleep on flight day 5. (NASA via AP)The Artemis II crew Canadian astronaut Spc. Jeremy Hansen, from left, Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, Spc. Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they speak with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon, April 2, 2026. (NASA)A family watches the launch of Artemis II at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Fla. on April 1, 2026. (Cassandra Klos/The New York Times)Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft lifts off at Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)Artemis II's solid rocket boosters providing the 7.2 million pounds of thrust during launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 1, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Chris O'Meara/AP)NASA's Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft set for the Artemis 2 mission on Launch Complex 39B is seen at sunrise at the Kennedy Space Center, March 24, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (John Raoux/AP)News photographers set remote cameras near NASA's Artermis II moon rocket on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, March 29, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Terry Renna/AP)The NASA Artemis II rocket, with the Orion spacecraft aboard, leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, March 20, 2026. (Terry Renna/AP)Artemis II crew members Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, from left, Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Cmdr. Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover at the Kennedy Space Center, March 27, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Chris O'Meara/AP)Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover meets young space enthusiasts at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, Jan. 17, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)The Orion spacecraft sits on top of the NASA Artemis II rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building before rollout to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, March 19, 2026. (Terry Renna/AP)A young space travel enthusiast at the Kennedy Space Center on the day that the Artemis II rocket was moving to the launch complex for an attempt that was ultimately rescheduled for March, at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Jan. 17, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)Spectators purchase NASA shirts and other items as they arrive to see the Artemis II rollout process at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Jan. 17, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
