NASA released breathtaking images from the Artemis II mission Tuesday, showing views from the moon’s far side and an eclipse visible only from the spacecraft.
One photograph captures an “Earthset,” with Earth slipping below the lunar horizon. Part of the planet is in shadow while Australia and Oceania remain visible, and detailed lunar terrain fills the foreground. The White House described the image as “Humanity, from the other side.”
Taken through a window of the Orion spacecraft Monday evening during the Artemis II flyby, the photo came as the crew became the first humans to view portions of the moon’s far side with the naked eye and the farthest people have ever traveled from Earth.
Another striking picture shows the moon moving directly in front of the sun — an eclipse that could not be seen from Earth. The crew initially wore eclipse glasses until the moon completely covered the sun. NASA said the moon appeared large enough from the spacecraft to produce nearly 54 minutes of totality, far longer than most eclipses visible on Earth.
Astronaut Victor Glover described the scene to NASA, saying the sun’s corona stayed bright and formed “a halo almost around the entire moon.” He added that the photos don’t fully convey the experience, that he was “really glad” the mission launched in time to see the roughly one‑hour eclipse, and called the sight “truly hard to describe” and “amazing.”
NASA also released an image of the lunar terminator where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows, revealing ridged craters and rugged topography in sharp relief.
The Artemis II crew is now returning to Earth and is expected to splash down off the California coast near San Diego on Friday evening.