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NASA’s Artemis II mission to fly around the far side of the Moon

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Terrence O'Brien
The far side of the Moon peeks out to say hi.

NASA shared this photo taken by the Artemis II crew today, showing the Orientale basin in its entirety for the first time. The far side is also becoming visible as the mission approaches its destination.

The Artemis II crew took this photo on day 4 of their journey to the Moon. In it, the Moon is oriented with the South Pole at the top and are beginning to see parts of the lunar far side. Orientale basin is on the right edge of the lunar disk in this image. Artemis II marks the first time that humans have seen the entire basin. The Artemis II crew will continue to observe Orientale from multiple angles as they approach the Moon and throughout the lunar flyby. Orientale is the textbook multi-ring impact basin used as a baseline to compare other impact craters on rocky worlds from Mercury to Pluto.
Image: NASA
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