As the Artemis II crew came close to passing behind the Moon and experiencing a planned loss of signal, they captured this image of a crescent Earth setting on the Moon’s limb.
 
The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.
 
In this photo, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while Australia and Oceania are in the daylight. In the foreground, the Ohm crater is visible, with terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Peaks such as these form in complex craters when the lunar surface is liquified on impact, and the liquefied surface splashes upward during the crater’s formation.
Source: NASA

Our planet draws closer to passing behind the Moon in this image captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby, about six minutes before Earthset. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over muted blue in the Australia and Oceania region.
Source: NASA

Earth appears tiny as the Moon looms large in this photo taken by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.
 
Taken 36 minutes before Earthset, our home planet is visible in the blackness of space off the limb of the illuminated Moon. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. Orientale mare basin, with its dark floor of cooled lava and outer rings of mountains, covers nearly the lower third of the imaged lunar surface. Different colors in the mare hint at its mineral composition. The lines of small indentations above Orientale are secondary crater chains, formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact. Both of the new craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested names for – Integrity and Carroll – are in full view.
 
The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.
Source: NASA

In this view of the Moon, taken by the Artemis II crew at 2:19 p.m. EDT, just before the crew began their observation period, Orientale basin is visible in the center, with a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the Moon’s crust in an eruption billions of years ago. This 600-mile-wide impact crater lies along the transition between the near and far sides and is sometimes partly visible from Earth. The small, bright crater to its left is Byrgius, which has 250-mile rays extending out from its basin.
Source: NASA

During their lunar flyby observation period, the Artemis II crew captured this image at 3:41 p.m. EDT, showing the rings of the Orientale basin, one of the Moon’s youngest and best-preserved large impact craters. These concentric rings offer scientists a rare window into how massive impacts shape planetary surfaces, helping refine models of crater formation and the Moon’s geologic history. At the 10 o’clock position of the Orientale basin, the two smaller craters – which the Artemis II crew has suggested be named Integrity and Carroll – are visible. These features highlight how crew observations can directly support surface feature identification and real-time science.
Source: NASA

Just over half of the Moon fills the left half of the image. The near side, characterized by the dark patches of ancient lava, is visible on the top third of the lunar disk. Orientale basin, a round crater in the center with a black patch of ancient lava in the center, is wrapped in rings of mountains. The round black spot northeast of Orientale is Grimaldi crater, and Aristarchus crater is the bright white dot in the midst of a dark grey lava flow at the top of the image.
Source: NASA

CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is seen taking images through the Orion spacecraft window early in the Artemis II lunar flyby.
 
Hansen and his fellow crewmates spent approximately seven hours taking turns at the Orion windows capturing science data to share with their team back on Earth.
Source: NASA

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman peers out the window of the Orion spacecraft just as his first lunar observation period of the day begins. Throughout the course of the sixth day of the mission, Wiseman and his crewmates took turns at the windows, capturing images and video of the Moon, along with recorded observations. The astronauts are members of the science team, and the data they collect will shape the future of lunar science.
Source: NASA

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover (Left), Commander Reid Wiseman (Center), and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Right) prepare for their journey around the far side of the Moon by configuring their camera equipment shortly before beginning their lunar flyby observations. 
Source: NASA

Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth.
 
We see a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk. The science community is investigating whether this effect is due to the corona, zodiacal light, or a combination of the two.

Also visible are stars, typically too faint to see when imaging the Moon, but with the Moon in darkness stars are readily imaged. This unique vantage point provides both a striking visual and a valuable opportunity for astronauts to document their observations during humanity’s return to deep space. The faint glow of the nearside of the Moon is visible in this image, having been illuminated by light reflected off the Earth. 
Source: NASA

A close-up view from the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II crew’s lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, captures a total solar eclipse, with only part of the Moon visible in the frame as it fully obscures the Sun.
 
We see a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk. The science community is investigating whether this effect is due to the corona, zodiacal light, or a combination of the two.
 
From this deep-space vantage point, the Moon appeared large enough to sustain nearly 54 minutes of totality, far longer than total solar eclipses typically seen from Earth. The bright silver glint on the left edge of the image is the planet Venus. The round, dark gray feature visible along the Moon’s horizon between the 9 and 10 o’clock positions is Mare Crisium, a feature visible from Earth. We see faint lunar features because light reflected off of Earth provides a source of illumination. 
Source: NASA

Captured from the Orion spacecraft near the end of the Artemis II lunar flyby on April 6, this image shows the Sun beginning to peek out from behind the Moon as the eclipse transitions out of totality. Only a portion of the Moon is visible in frame, its curved edge revealing a bright sliver of sunlight returning after nearly an hour of darkness.
 
In final moments of the eclipse observed by the crew, the reemerging light creates a sharp contrast against the Moon’s silhouette and reveals lunar topography not usually visible along the lunar limb.
 
This fleeting phase captures the dynamic alignment of the Sun, Moon, and spacecraft as Orion continues its journey back from the far side of the Moon.
Source: NASA

The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) – uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.
Source: NASA

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, on the left, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch, on the right, gather images and observations of the lunar surface to share with the world during the lunar flyby on the sixth day of the mission. The crew spent approximately seven hours taking turns at the windows of the Orion spacecraft as they flew around the far side of the Moon. At closest approach, they came within 4,067 miles of the Moon’s surface.
Source: NASA

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen captures an image through the camera shroud covering window 2 of the Orion spacecraft. The camera shroud, essentially a curtain with a hole for the lens to pass through, is used to prevent light from the cabin from reflecting on the windowpanes.
Source: NASA

Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members, seen here (From left to right: Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch), pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft.
Source: NASA

The Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground lit up by the Sun. A waxing gibbous Moon is visible in the background. Orientale basin, a 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, is visible toward the center bottom of the Moon. This basin straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. To the left of Orientale, which has a patch of ancient lava in its basin, is the far side; this is the hemisphere we don’t get to see from Earth. To the right of Orientale is the near side, the hemisphere we see every day from Earth. The nearside is notable for giant, dark patches of ancient lava flows that cover its surface.
Source: NASA

NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the Moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis II crew’s deep space journey at 6:42 p.m. ET on the sixth day of the mission. The right side of NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen lit up by the Sun. A waxing crescent Moon is visible behind it. And then, a crescent Earth, tiny compared to the Moon, is about to set below the Moon’s horizon on the right.
Source: NASA

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground, lit up by the Sun. A first quarter Moon is visible behind it, with sunlight coming from the right. Near the bottom right edge of the Moon, Orientale basin stands out with a black patch of ancient lava in its center. A 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, Orientale straddles the near and far sides of the Moon.
Source: NASA

The Moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, is photographed by NASA’s Orion spacecraft on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II mission. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the Moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars.
Source: NASA

The Moon, seen here backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse on April 6, 2026, is photographed by one of the cameras on the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the Moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars. 
Source: NASA

The Sun is rising at the left edge of the Moon, ending a nearly one-hour total solar eclipse on April 6, 2026. While the Sun hid behind the Moon, the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, pictured in the forefront, saw a Moon shrouded in night. This offered a perfect opportunity to look for rarely seen phenomena. And the moment delivered. Calling down to Earth at 9 p.m. ET the crew reported seeing six impact flashes, which are light flashes that are created when meteoroids, traveling many thousands of miles per hour, smash into the Moon’s surface.
Source: NASA