WEATHER ALERT

Welcome to the dark side Artemis II crew captures eclipse, Earthrise, far side of moon during lunar flyby By: Photography by NASA Posted: Last Modified:

NASA released new photos Tuesday captured by the Artemis II astronauts.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$1 per week for 24 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.99/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.

NASA released new photos Tuesday captured by the Artemis II astronauts.

Artemis II’s lunar fly-around and intense observation period lasted seven hours.

A total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen takes images through the Orion spacecraft window early in teh Artemis II lunar flyby. (NASA)
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen takes images through the Orion spacecraft window early in teh Artemis II lunar flyby. (NASA)

Venturing as close as 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) to the gray dusty surface, the astronauts zipped through a list of more than two dozen photo targets, using powerful Nikon cameras as well as their iPhones to zoom in on impact craters and other intriguing lunar features.

The U.S.-Canadian crew has now begun their return to Earth. They will splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego on Friday.

With files from The Associated Press

 

 

The moon eclipses the sun as seen from the Artemis II mission lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The moon eclipses the sun as seen from the Artemis II mission lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA / The Associated Press)

 

 

From this deep-space vantage point, the moon appeared large enough to sustain nearly 54 minutes of eclipse 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. (NASA)
From this deep-space vantage point, the moon appeared large enough to sustain nearly 54 minutes of eclipse 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. (NASA)
The sun begins to peek out from behind the moon as the eclipse transitions out of totality. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The sun begins to peek out from behind the moon as the eclipse transitions out of totality. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The Artemis II crew pose with eclipse viewers. Counterclockwise from top left: Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The Artemis II crew pose with eclipse viewers. Counterclockwise from top left: Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Earth next to the moon before Earthset. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Earth next to the moon before Earthset. (NASA / The Associated Press)
This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. (NASA)
This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. (NASA)
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over Australia and Oceania. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over Australia and Oceania. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Another view of Earthset. (NASA)
Another view of Earthset. (NASA)
The near side of the moon (the hemisphere we see from Earth) is visible at the top half of the disk, identifiable by the dark splotches that are ancient lava flows. At the lower center is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Everything below the crater is the far side, not visible from Earth. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The near side of the moon (the hemisphere we see from Earth) is visible at the top half of the disk, identifiable by the dark splotches that are ancient lava flows. At the lower center is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Everything below the crater is the far side, not visible from Earth. (NASA / The Associated Press)
The Orientale basin has a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the Moon’s crust in an eruption billions of years ago. (NASA)
The Orientale basin has a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the Moon’s crust in an eruption billions of years ago. (NASA)
Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Part of the moon comes into view along the terminator -- the boundary between lunar day and night. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Part of the moon comes into view along the terminator -- the boundary between lunar day and night. (NASA / The Associated Press)
Earthrise captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 7:22 p.m. ET during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the moon’s far side. (NASA)
Earthrise captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 7:22 p.m. ET during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the moon’s far side. (NASA)

Related Articles

Artemis II astronauts channel Apollo 8 with a striking Earthset photo
In this image provided by NASA, The Artemis II crew captured this view of an Earthset on Monday, April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. (NASA via AP)
Artemis II breaks Apollo 13’s distance record with daring moon flyby that included a solar eclipse
This image provided by NASA on Monday, April 6, 2026, shows a view of the moon taken by the Artemis II crew before going to sleep on flight day 5. (NASA via AP)
Jeremy Hansen challenges future generations to break new Artemis record
Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, connects live from the Orion spacecraft and speaks with Canadian media along with NASA astronauts Victor Glover, left, and Reid Wiseman in a Saturday, April 4, 2026, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP — Handout, Canadian Space Agency (Mandatory Credit)
It's time for Artemis II to break Apollo 13's distance record. What to know about the moon flyby
This image provided by NASA, astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Artemis astronauts field more final frontier questions from Canadian kids
In this image from video provided by NASA, Artemis II astronauts, from left, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch and Victor Glover gather for an interview en route to the moon on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Artemis II toilet acts up again as astronauts speed toward the moon to break Apollo 13's record
This image from video provided by NASA shows a view of earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft's four windows after completing the translunar injection burn, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Canada's Jeremy Hansen rockets toward the moon with Artemis II after engine burn
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen of Canada and pilot Victor Glover wave to family members as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-B and a planned liftoff on NASA's Artemis II moon rocket at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Canada's Artemis II astronaut gives thumbs-up to 'Project Hail Mary' starring Canadian Ryan Gosling
This image from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they speak with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP) CORRECTION: headed to the moon, not in moon's orbit
‘Payoff day’: Jenni Gibbons on watching Artemis II crew make lunar history
3 Canadian Space Division C.W.O. Jamie Marshall, left to right, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Col. Joshua Kutryk, CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, 3 CSD commander Brig.-Gen. Christopher Horner, CSA astronaut Col. Jeremy Hansen and capsule communicator Capt. Erin Edwards pose for a group photo during a visit at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, in a Jan. 7, 2025 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - NASA, James Blair (Mandatory Credit)
Report Error Submit a Tip