Artemis II Astronauts Photograph Solar Eclipse From Beyond the Moon

by · Peta Pixel

The NASA Artemis II crew had a very eventful April 6. After breaking Apollo 13’s record for the farthest distance humans have ever been from Earth, the crew got busy taking a lot of photos, including unique photos of the Moon and beautiful eclipse photos unlike anything visible on Earth.

From their perspective, orbiting the Moon in the Orion spacecraft, the Artemis II crew experienced a very special solar eclipse with 54 minutes of totality. On Earth, given the Moon’s relative size and distance, totality only lasts a few minutes in most cases during a solar eclipse. However, the Artemis II crew, which flew nearly 253,000 miles (almost 407,000 kilometers) from Earth, was so close to the Moon that it was large enough from their perspective to cover the Sun for nearly an hour. The crew passed within 4,070 miles (6,550 kilometers) of the lunar surface yesterday, April 6, 2026.

‘Artemis II in Eclipse’ –Nikon Z9 with adapted Nikon AF-D 35mm f/2 lens at f/2, 2s, ISO 1600 | Credit: NASA

“The corona forms a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk, revealing details of the Sun’s outer atmosphere typically hidden by its brightness. Also visible are stars, typically too faint to see when imaging the Moon, but with the Moon in darkness stars are readily imaged,” NASA explains. “This unique vantage point provides both a striking visual and a valuable opportunity for astronauts to document and describe the corona during humanity’s return to deep space. The faint glow of the nearside of the Moon is visible in this image, having been illuminated by light reflected off the Earth.”

This is also one of the relatively rare photos thus far the Artemis II crew captured using the 45-megapixel Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera that they successfully campaigned to get added to the ship’s manifest at the last minute. During NASA’s lengthy Artemis II livestream yesterday, the crew discussed camera placement and settings, noting that the Z9 would be at window one for eclipse work.

‘Eclipse Safety First’ — ‘The Artemis II crew — Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) — uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.’ | Credit: NASA

That said, the Nikon D5 also took its turn during the eclipse, capturing the pair of photos below. The first shows a partial view of the Moon during the total solar eclipse on the right, while a glowing orb is visible in the distant background. That silver glint is the planet Venus, visible because the Moon blocks the Sun’s light. The incredible photo was captured at ISO 40000, another example of the Nikon D5’s exceptional high ISO capabilities.

‘Artemis II Total Solar Eclipse, Partial Frame’ — Nikon D5 with Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 80mm, f/4.5, 1/6s, ISO 40000. | Credit: NASA

The second eclipse shot shows the Sun beginning to peak out from behind the Moon as totality ended.

‘Solar Eclipse Emergence from Orion’ — Nikon D5 with Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 220mm, f/5.3, 1/100s, ISO 6400. | Credit: NASA

Total solar eclipses on Earth are a very valuable opportunity for scientists to study the Sun. There’s a very good reason that the European Space Agency built an entire mission, Proba-3, to create artificial total solar eclipses in space using precisely-controlled spacecraft. The NASA Artemis II mission just got its own taste of a lengthy solar eclipse, and scientists will be poring over the data for a long time. In the meantime, everyone else gets to enjoy unique, awesome photos of the spectacle.

Image credits: NASA