#Moon

NASA’s Artemis II crew has splashed down safely after a 10-day mission around the moon, closing a major test flight and setting up the next phase of the agency’s return-to-the-moon campaign.

A newly released NASA timelapse from Artemis 2 captures the moon fully covering the sun during the crew’s far-side lunar flyby, creating one of the rarest eclipse views in human spaceflight.

NASA has published an extraordinary Earthset image captured by the Artemis II crew during its far-side lunar flyby, offering both a scientific record and a powerful symbol of the mission’s return to deep space.

Six days into NASA’s Artemis II mission, the Orion crew passed the Apollo 13 distance record, marking the farthest humans have traveled from Earth and underscoring the agency’s plan to return crews to the Moon.

NASA has published the first official moon-flyby images from Artemis II, including a rare in-space solar eclipse and views of terrain on the lunar far side as the crew returns to Earth.

NASA’s Artemis 2 crew has sent back high-resolution images from its lunar flyby, including a new Earthset view and eclipse scenes not seen from humans in decades.

NASA’s Artemis 2 astronauts saw a total solar eclipse from beyond the moon during their lunar flyby, with totality lasting about 53 minutes.

NASA’s Artemis II crew looped behind the Moon and briefly became the farthest humans ever to travel from Earth, marking a symbolic and operational milestone for the agency’s return to deep-space crewed exploration.

NASA’s Artemis 2 crew completed a lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, circling behind the moon, witnessing a total solar eclipse from beyond it, and traveling farther from Earth than any humans before them.

As Artemis 2 pushed farther from Earth than any humans before, the crew paused to honor a member of their astronaut family by naming features on the moon's surface.

The Artemis II astronauts have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history, surpassing the Apollo 13 mark as Orion looped around the far side of the moon.

NASA’s Artemis 2 crew is preparing for a seven-hour moon flyby on April 6, marking the first close human encounter with the moon in more than 50 years.

NASA’s Artemis 2 crew entered the moon’s sphere of influence on April 6, a milestone that marks humanity’s return to lunar space more than five decades after the Apollo era.

As Artemis 2 approaches its lunar flyby, the crew is reporting unexpected surface detail, conducting suit checks, and preparing for observations on the moon’s far side.

NASA’s Artemis 2 crew is heading toward the moon, marking humanity’s first crewed journey to lunar space since Apollo 17 in December 1972 and highlighting how funding and political urgency shaped the long pause.

First science results from Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander are casting doubt on a decades-old idea that the moon is cleanly divided between a hotter near side and cooler regions elsewhere.

As human lunar missions move beyond short visits, the harder problem is shifting from reaching the Moon to living and working there for weeks, months, and eventually years.

NASA has started the formal countdown for Artemis 2, with mission managers reporting no major issues ahead of the planned April 1 launch window.

As the Artemis 2 crew arrives in Florida for an April 1 launch attempt, NASA is tying the mission to a wider restructuring that emphasizes lunar surface operations over a Moon-orbiting outpost.

The first full moon of spring in the Northern Hemisphere will peak on April 1, setting the timing for major religious observances and giving skywatchers a clear celestial marker for the season.