NASA Releases New Artemis II Images of the Moon’s Far Side

Overview

• NASA, which released new photos Monday, highlighted the Moon’s far side and a thin Earth crescent captured by the Orion spacecraft.
• The images were taken April 6 during the closest pass at about 6,500 kilometers from the surface, and the crew later reached 406,778 kilometers from Earth, a human distance record.
• The crew collected more than 7,000 images that NASA says will improve crater and geology studies and help identify regions for future landings.
• The astronauts reported six meteorite impact flashes on the dark surface, and teams are checking those sightings against data from a lunar orbiter.
• Inspector general estimates put a crewed Orion flight at about $4.1 billion and the Artemis program near $93–100 billion through the late 2020s as NASA shifts work toward Artemis 3.