NASA has released a fresh collection of images taken by the Orion capsule during the Artemis II mission. Captured on April 6, 2026, these photos represent a key point in the journey—the sixth day of flight—when the crew not only passed over the far side of the Moon but also set a new benchmark for human exploration in deep space.
Earth and Moon Aligned
In one of the images, the Orion spacecraft frames both Earth and the Moon together. With sunlight illuminating part of the capsule, Earth appears as a faint crescent seemingly about to dip behind the Moon’s horizon, emphasizing the vast distance and isolation of the mission from our home planet. In the lower-right corner, the outline of the Moon can also be seen.
In this second image, the so-called “lunar terminator” is visible—the boundary between day and night on the Moon. The shallow angle of sunlight along this line highlights the surface’s uneven features, casting long shadows that vividly emphasize the depth and form of craters, mountain ranges, and plateaus.
On its sixth day, the Artemis II mission exceeded the historic record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. According to NASA, the Orion capsule reached a distance of 406,800 km from Earth—the farthest any human has ever traveled.
Tension During Orion’s Lunar Flyby
This achievement came shortly after a 40-minute period of total communication blackout, when Orion moved behind the Moon. The loss of radio contact, caused by the Moon blocking signals, is expected, yet it still brings a mix of tension and awe for both mission control and the astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen.
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