NASA has unveiled more than 12,000 photographs captured during the historic Artemis 2 mission, offering the public unprecedented views of Earth, the Moon and deep space from beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in over five decades.
The images were taken by astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion spacecraft “Integrity” during the 10-day Artemis 2 journey around the Moon.
The mission launched on April 1 and safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 after traveling farther from Earth than any crewed mission in history, reaching a maximum distance of approximately 252,760 miles (406,773 kilometers).
Among the newly released photographs are dramatic Earthrise and Earthset views, close-up images of lunar craters, star trail exposures captured from Orion’s rotating spacecraft, and rare eclipse perspectives seen from beyond the Moon’s far side.
One of the mission’s most remarkable moments occurred during the lunar flyby on April 6, when the crew observed a solar eclipse from deep space. The astronauts photographed the Sun’s glowing corona emerging from behind the Moon, creating visuals rarely witnessed by humans.
The collection also includes detailed images of the lunar surface, where astronauts reported seeing subtle shades of brown and green across the Moon’s terrain. Two craters photographed during the mission were informally named “Integrity” after the spacecraft and “Carroll” in tribute to Wiseman’s late wife.
