The Preliminary Lunar Science Report for Artemis II is Out!

Through photographs, spoken observations, drawings, and annotations, the Artemis II crew created a unique scientific record, one that is now available to the science community and the public for further study. On April 1st, 2026, the crew of the Artemis II mission launched to space atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS).

Roughly three and a half hours after launch, the rocket's first stage separated from the Orion spacecraft (Integrity), and astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen began their nearly ten-day journey around the Moon. As the second mission in the Artemis Program, the astronauts' flight was another crucial step toward returning astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era.

And now, with the mission data processed, NASA has released " Artemis II: Sights & Sounds of Science, a field guide to the Artemis II Preliminary Lunar Science Report. This nighttime picture of Earth was taken on April 2, 2026, by an Artemis II crew member.

Credit: NASA Who can forget the lovely picture the Artemis II astronauts took of planet Earth on Day 2 of the mission? . From their advantageous position, the Moon completely blocked the Sun for 54 minutes, far longer than a solar eclipse lasts on Earth.

Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. The observed flashes coincided with a planned communications loss as Integrity passed into the Moon's shadow.

The crew then sent the video they acquired to the Lunar Science Team at NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center in Houston (shown in the video above).

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