Artemis II photos: See first images of moon, Earth flyby mission
NASA has started to release some of the first photos from Artemis II's historic space flight around the moon.
Artemis II flew around the moon on Monday, April 6, traveling farther than Apollo 13, becoming the first humans to see the far side of the moon and traveling farther into space from Earth than any other human.
Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell's message to Artemis II: 'Welcome to my old neighborhood'
Artemis II photos
One of the images captured the rings of the Orientale basin, one of 30 targets that Artemis II's astronauts were tasked with photographing and observing during their six-hour flyby.
It also includes two craters that Artemis II's crew proposed naming "Integrity," the name of the Orion spacecraft, and "Carroll," in honor of Commander Reif Wiseman's late wife.
Another image is of the Earthset with the moon's surface in the forecast, reminiscent of the iconic photo taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders.
That photo also inspired the zero gravity indicator for the Artemis II mission, "Rise," which was designed by a California kid.
When does the Artemis II crew come back to Earth?
Artemis II lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. on April 1.
It is set to splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California on Friday, April 10 at approx. 8:07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Though those times could shift.
What happens after the Artemis II crew splashes in California?
After the Artemis II splashes down in the Pacific Ocean near California, recovery teams will retrieve the astronauts and fly them via helicopter to the USS John P. Mutha. They will then be evaluated on the ship. When cleared, Artemis II's crew will be flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, NASA said.
What has Artemis II been looking at while on the mission?
During the hours-long flight to the moon and back, NASA and Artemis II's astronauts have been testing the Orion spacecraft, their spacesuits, and the technology needed to fly to the moon.
During the lunar flyby, the Artemis II were tasked with photographing, observing, and analyzing nearly 30 targets on the moon's surface, including the Orientale basin, a 3.8-billion-year-old, 600-mile-wide crater on the moon's surface, and the Hertzsprung basin, a 400-mile crater northwest of the Orientale basin.
They also took photos, videos, and made voice memos during the mission, according to NASA broadcasts of the lunar flyby, and provided descriptions of the lunar surface to NASA scientists back on Earth.
The Source: NASA and The White House shared some of the first photos of Artemis II's lunar flyby on X on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. Additional updates on the Artemis II mission from NASA, NASA's Artemis II blog, and NASA's live feed.