Artemis II astronauts send back mind-blowing photos of the moon, earth, and total solar eclipse during historic flyby

Artemis II astronauts have shared the incredible images they captured on the mission’s lunar pass.

The NASA astronauts captured breathtaking views of the moon’s rugged surface, a distant glowing Earth, and a rare solar eclipse seen from deep space.

It marks the first time humans have travelled this far from Earth since Apollo 17, making every image feel like a once-in-a-generation moment.

One photo in particular even mirrors the iconic Apollo ‘Earthrise’ shot, except this time the astronauts witnessed an incredible ‘Earthset’ instead.

Artemis II’s new photos of the moon

The images of space sent back from the Artemis II astronauts can only be described as breathtaking.

Particularly the closeups of the moon are packed with insane levels of detail, showing massive craters, jagged ridges, and shadowed basins stretching across the surface, showing new craters that hadn’t been seen before.

As the Orion spacecraft swept around the lunar far side, the crew were able to see terrain that humans rarely witness directly, especially with the naked eye and the crew even lost touch with Earth briefly.

Some shots even show Earth suspended in the distance like a tiny glowing marble beyond the grey horizon.

They saw a total solar eclipse

But the most jaw-dropping moment came when the moon perfectly aligned with the Sun to create a total solar eclipse from Orion’s viewpoint.

From space, the astronauts saw a glowing halo of light burst around the darkened moon, creating a surreal cosmic ring effect that is almost impossible to replicate from Earth.

Alongside that, the now-famous ‘Earthset’ image shows our planet dipping behind the moon in a scene that parallels the iconic ‘Earthrise’ moment from Apollo.

Between the eclipse, the distant Earth, and the ultra-detailed lunar surface, Artemis II has delivered one of the most visually stunning missions NASA has ever flown.