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ALT NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; left, Christina Koch, mission specialist; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, right, pose for a group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
ALT In this view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible at the top half of the Moon disk. It is identifiable by the dark splotches. These are ancient lava flows from a time early in the Moon\u2019s history when it was volcanically active. The large crater that appears below the lava flows, dark in the center, is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon\u2019s near and far sides as is partly visible from Earth on the edge of the Moon. In this image, we have a full view of the crater. Everything below the crater is the far side, the hemisphere we don\u2019t get to see from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits round us. Credit: NASA
ALT The gray Moon can be seen in the vast distance against the blackness of space. A partial view of the white Orion spacecraft can be glimpsed on the left side of the image. One of its paneled solar array extends into the center bottom of the image. Credit: NASA
ALT NASAβs Space Launch System rocket and the crewed Orion spacecraft lift off from NASAβs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
