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Artemis II Mission Objectives
Comparison of the primary goals of the current Artemis II mission.
Primary Sources
Artemis II crew capture new photo of far side of the moon
By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Updated on: April 6, 2026 / 1:19 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission captured a new photo of the far side of the moon on Saturday, on the fourth day of the astronauts' lunar journey.NASA released the image on Sunday. In it, the moon is oriented upside down, with its South Pole facing upward and parts of its far side visible, according to the agency's description. The Orientale basin, a massive crater that's hard to see from Earth, is situated along the right edge of the moon in the latest picture, NASA said, adding that the Artemis II voyage marks the first time humans have ever seen the basin in full.The Orientale basin will be an ongoing subject of study for members of the Orion spacecraft's four-person crew, which includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The Artemis II crew captured a new image of the far side of the moon on Day 4 of their lunar flight. NASA "The Artemis II crew will continue to observe Orientale from multiple angles as they approach the Moon and throughout the lunar flyby," said NASA. The agency noted how the basin can be "used as a baseline to compare other impact craters on rocky worlds from Mercury to Pluto." The Artemis II mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last week, in the first piloted moonshot since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago. It is meant to be a test flight that sets the stage for future missions that return astronauts to the moon.On "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Sunday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman underscored that collecting data observations and data is the mission's primary goal right now."We want to gather as much data as we possibly can for that," he said. "Of course, there's various science experiments, there's lunar observations, but learning as much as we can about Orion is critically important, because Artemis III is a year away." Artemis II was about 64,000 miles from the Moon on Sunday, according to NASA. A mission status update shared just before 12:30 p.m. ET said the crew had recently woken up for the fifth day of their flight to the song "Working Class Heroes (...
Artemis II astronauts share stunning images of moon as lunar flyby ...
Artemis II hits ‘two thirds’ mark on moon journey, shares new lunar photos: ‘History in the making’Astronauts on the Artemis II mission are over two-thirds of the way to reaching the moon for a flyby mission that will make them Earth’s farthest emissaries and promises views of the moon’s far side.12PostsSort byCoverage for this event has ended.20 hours agoPinnedCrew snaps stunning photo of the Earth appearing tiny ahead of Moon flybyThe Artemis II crew snapped a striking photo of Earth appearing tiny from space, just ahead of their expected lunar flyby Monday.The image, shared by NASA on Sunday, shows only a thin crescent of Earth illuminated through a window of the Orion spacecraft.“One last look at Earth before we reach the Moon,” NASA said in a post on X.“This view of the Earth was captured on April 5, the fourth day of the Artemis II mission, from inside the Orion spacecraft. The four astronauts will reach their closest approach of the Moon tomorrow, April 6.”Posted by Bonny Chu17 hours agoArtemis II crew to track Apollo sites, scout future landing zones, capture planets during flybyAs Artemis II swings around the Moon on Monday, astronauts will track historic Apollo sites, scout future landing zones and capture rare views of nearby planets.NASA outlined the assignment Sunday during its daily Artemis II mission status briefing at Johnson Space Center in Houston.“The two Apollo sites they'll be able to see here at the beginning are the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites as they progress through the several hour period where the moon is illuminated,” Artemis II Lunar Science lead Kelsey Young said.Young added that the crew will also survey potential landing zones for future missions, including the mysterious Reiner Gamma formation — a bright lunar swirl associated with a localized magnetic anomaly — and the edge of the massive South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the Moon’s largest impact craters.Astronauts will also search for the “earthshine” phenomenon, when sunlight reflected off Earth casts a faint glow across the Moon’s surface.In addition, the crew is expected to photograph Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn at sunrise and sunset, while also observing a solar eclipse from Orion’s unique vantage point.Posted by Bonny Chu18 hours agoNASA reveals mockup of what Artemis II crew will see during 7-hour lunar flybyA new video offers a preview of what the Artemis II crew is expected to see during their seven-hour lunar flyby on Monday.NASA shared the 28-second mockup...
Artemis astronauts glimpse moon's 'Grand Canyon' ahead of historic ...
This handout picture by an Artemis II crew member provided by NASA shows Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch looking back at earth through the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 2, 2026.
Photos: The historic Artemis II moon mission | CNN
One of the first photos released from the mission shows Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window, after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2.
