NASA Artemis II Crew View Solar Eclipse on Lunar Flyby

NASA Artemis II Crew View Solar Eclipse on Lunar Flyby

During their lunar flyby, the Artemis II crew enjoyed the rare opportunity to experience a solar eclipse from their Orion spacecraft. With the Sun hidden behind the Moon, the astronauts were able to capture views of the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, also known as the solar corona.

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis Program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century. 

During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

Artemis II splashed down on April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. 

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Image Credit: NASA

Duration: 2 minutes, 50 seconds
Capture Date: April 6, 2026

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