Artemis II Crew Achieves Historic Lunar Flyby, Captures Unprecedented Images
NASA's Artemis II mission successfully completed a lunar flyby, marking the first human return to the Moon's vicinity since 1972 and capturing unique images of the lunar far side.
NASA's Artemis II mission has successfully completed a historic lunar flyby, marking the first time humans have approached the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four-person crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—achieved several milestones during this mission.
On April 6, 2026, at 1:57 p.m. EDT, the crew surpassed the Apollo 13 distance record by reaching 252,756 miles from Earth, setting a new benchmark for human spaceflight. During their closest approach, Orion flew approximately 4,067 miles above the lunar surface, providing the crew with unprecedented views of the Moon's far side.
The astronauts observed and documented various lunar features, including the 3.8-billion-year-old Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater straddling the Moon's near and far sides. Mission Commander Reid Wiseman described its annular ring as "very circular in nature," noting differences in color and texture between its northern and southern parts.
The crew also proposed names for two previously unnamed craters: "Integrity," after their spacecraft, and "Carroll," in honor of Wiseman's late wife. Additionally, they captured striking images of an "Earthset," where Earth drops below the lunar horizon, and an "Earthrise," as Earth reappears above the Moon's surface.
During a nearly hour-long solar eclipse, the astronauts studied the solar corona—the Sun's outermost atmosphere—as it appeared around the Moon's edge. They also reported observing six light flashes on the Moon's darkened surface, likely caused by meteoroid impacts.
Reflecting on the mission's significance, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen honored the efforts of earlier space explorers and encouraged future generations to continue the journey: > "We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear. But we most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived."
The Artemis II mission serves as a critical step toward NASA's goal of returning humans to the lunar surface and establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon.
