NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are capturing striking views as Orion nears a planned loop behind the moon’s far side, CBS’s Mark Strassmann reports from the Johnson Space Center. On day five of the test flight, about 180,000 miles from Earth, the crew used a digital camera with a 400-millimeter lens to photograph regions of the lunar far side — the hemisphere never visible from Earth — and were visibly moved by the sight.
“It is phenomenal,” astronaut Christina Koch said, noting that the moon seen from orbit “is not the moon you see from Earth.” The Orion capsule is set to pass behind the moon Monday night, temporarily losing radio contact for roughly 40 minutes as it reaches a new distance record from Earth. Flight controllers and the crew expect the blackout; the astronauts said they plan to use that time to reflect and relax. “We’ll meet them on the other side,” one crew member said.
From orbit, Commander Victor Glover offered a broader message about Earth’s fragility and humanity’s interconnectedness, urging people to care for one another. NASA posted his remarks and crew photos to social media, and the clip quickly drew millions of views. The crew also sent holiday greetings, wishing people on Earth a happy Easter as they continue the mission’s test objectives and science observations.
Artemis II remains focused on completing its demonstration tasks and collecting scientific data while giving the public a rare, close-up perspective of parts of the moon never seen from home. The upcoming far-side swing will be a key milestone in the mission’s planned trajectory and a dramatic reminder of the perspectives gained from deep-space exploration.