Finally, Artemis delivers some exceptional, high-quality photos of the Moon

A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. Credit: NASA

NASA’s Artemis II mission, carrying four astronauts on an out-of-this-world journey, flew around the Moon on Monday.

The crew members took turns describing the stunning landscape below and captured images of Earth rising behind the Moon, in communications with Mission Control in Houston. What they did not send back in real time, due to a lack of communications bandwidth, was this high-resolution imagery.

That changed on Monday night, when Orion established an optical link with ground stations on Earth to send high-resolution images back to the planet. NASA has been uploading them to Johnson Space Center’s Flickr page.

And what those images reveal is awe-inspiring.

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. Credit: NASA

During their flyby, the astronauts were able to take advantage of both a rising and setting Earth, as well as a solar eclipse. The moment of totality was brilliant.

This image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. Credit: NASA

Inside the Integrity spacecraft, the four astronauts— Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right)—had to wear shades for the initial phase of the eclipse.

The eclipse glasses are identical to what NASA produced for the 2024 total solar eclipse. Credit: NASA

During their flyby of the Moon, the spacecraft got to within 4,067 miles (6,545 km) of the Moon’s surface.

The Artemis II crew captures a portion of the Moon coming into view along the terminator. Credit: NASA

Only a portion of the Moon is visible in frame below, with its curved edge revealing a bright sliver of sunlight returning after nearly an hour of darkness.

This image shows the Sun beginning to peek out from behind the Moon as the eclipse transitions out of totality. Credit: NASA

Each astronaut took turns photographing and documenting the Moon, both for audiences back on Earth and for the lunar science community.

Glover, the pilot on Artemis II, said the astronauts had trouble taking photos that did the view justice.

“What we’re seeing, we’re just not picking up on the cameras,” Glover said. “After all the amazing sights that we saw earlier, we just went sci-fi. It just looks unreal. You can see the surface of the Moon [from] the Earthshine. You can actually see a majority of the Moon. It is the strangest-looking thing.”

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch gather images and observations of the lunar surface. Credit: NASA

Humanity has seen similar images to the one below, beginning with the iconic Earthrise image captured by Apollo 8. But these are the highest-resolution images of the phenomenon and hint at a future with far more time spent near, and on, the Moon’s surface.

Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 pm EDT, April 6, 2026. Credit: NASA

The Artemis II mission is now speeding back toward Earth, with the spacecraft due to splash down on Friday evening off the coast of California.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/04/the-artemis-ii-mission-sends-back-stunning-images-of-the-far-side-of-the-moon/