New Views

May 6, 2026

Lillian Stone

The moon’s gray, cratered surface fills the foreground while a bright crescent Earth glows in the distance against dark space. — SPACE SNAPSHOT A crescent Earth appears to set on the moon in this photo taken by the Artemis II crew on April 6. NASA

NASA has released thousands of photos from its April 2026 Artemis II spaceflight. On May 4, the agency published 12,217 never-before-seen photos taken by the Artemis II astronauts during their journey around the moon. These photos offer a new look at the wonders of space.

The Artemis II spaceflight began on April 1 and ended successfully on April 10. During that time, the crew captured many images. NASA shared some of them during the spaceflight. But now that the astronauts are back on Earth with all of their equipment, NASA has been able to release many more.

Close-up view of the moon’s crater-covered surface with a small crescent of Earth rising above the horizon against black space.

MYSTERIOUS MOON Earth peaks over the moon’s cratered surface on April 6.

NASA

Full view of Earth floating in space, with swirling white clouds, land, and blue oceans.

HELLO, WORLD Earth moves through space on April 2. An Artemis II crew member snapped this through a window of the Orion spacecraft. That’s Venus in the lower right.

NASA

The Artemis II photos are the first pictures taken by astronauts traveling beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years, according to Space.com. They show stunning views of Earth and of the moon. They also show the astronauts inside their craft. All of these photos are available on a NASA website called Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

While on board, commander Reid Wiseman described witnessing “sights that no human has ever seen.” These photos provide a peek at those awe-inspiring sights.