Among the most amazing images of Earth and the Moon captured by the Artemis II crew on their journey around the Moon is this: a beautiful solar eclipse visible only from their vantage point beyond Earth orbit.
As the Artemis II crew travelled around the far side of the Moon on 6 April 2026, they were able to observe the whole of the lunar disc in one view.
At one key stage of their journey, the Moon completely blocked out the Sun from the crew's perspective, giving them their very own total solar eclipse.
However, this solar eclipse is a kind we will never see from Earth.
That's because the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, so when we see a solar eclipse from the ground, we always see the same side of the Moon facing us as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun.
As the Artemis II crew were passing around the far side of the Moon, the side of the Moon facing them during the eclipse was a side we never see from Earth.
The crew were treated to 54 minutes of totality, which refers to the point during an eclipse when the Moon completely blocks out the Sun. On Earth, totality normally only lasts a few minutes.
Visible around the Moon in the image is the glowing halo of the Sun's corona, which is the Sun's outermost atmosphere.
The corona is difficult to see against the brightness of the Sun itself, so solar scientists use an instrument known as a coronagraph to block out the main body of the Sun and make the corona easier to see.
That's effectively what's happening in these images of a solar eclipse seen by the Artemis II crew.
Also clearly visible are distant stars. A common query regarding pictures of space captured by astronauts is that no stars are visible.
Normally, an apparent lack of stars in photos captured during spacewalks, for example, is due to the brightness of the Sun, which means the exposures required to capture foreground subjects – like parts of the International Space Station, Earth or even the astronauts themselves – drown out background stars in photos.
Here, however, the Sun is entirely eclipsed by the Moon, giving the background stars a chance to shine.
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The dim glow of the near side of the Moon is visible in one of the images, illuminated by light reflected off the Earth.
In the other image, the planet Venus is visible as a bright point of light on the left edge, while the round, dark grey feature between the 9 and 10 o'clock positions on the Moon is Mare Crisium, a lunar sea.
Faint lunar features like these are visible in the image due to light from Earth reflecting off the Moon.
As these pictures show, the Artemis II crew have been treated to amazing views showing the Earth-Moon-Sun system from a unique perspective, reminding us of our unique place in the cosmos.
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