Milky Way Galaxy: Deep Space View | NASA Artemis II Mission

Milky Way Galaxy: Deep Space View | NASA Artemis II Mission

A sky full of stars. Following a successful lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts captured this photo of our galaxy, the Milky Way, on April 7, 2026.

From the glowing arc of the Milky Way to dozens of intricate constellations, the unaided human eye should be able to perceive several thousand stars on a clear, dark night. Unfortunately, growing light pollution has robbed about 30% of people around the globe and approximately 80% of people in the United States of the nightly view of their home galaxy.

Light pollution is a familiar problem that has many detrimental effects, not only on the practice of astronomy. It also has an impact on human health and wildlife, since it disrupts the cyclical transition from sunlight to starlight that biological systems have evolved alongside. Furthermore, the loss of visible stars is a poignant loss of human cultural heritage. Until relatively recently, humans throughout history had an impressive view of the starry night sky, and the effect of this nightly spectacle is evident in ancient cultures, from the myths it inspired to the structures that were built in alignment with celestial bodies.

Learn more via Globe at Night: 

https://www.globeatnight.org

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist onboard launched on the Artemis II mission, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s Artemis II Mission is taking Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard their Orion spacecraft.

Track NASA’s Artemis II Mission in real time:

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis-ii/arow/

Check the Artemis blog for updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Release Date: April 7, 2026

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