Astronauts aboard Artemis II have described their first glimpse of the Moon’s far side as unlike anything previously seen, providing a rare look at a region never visible from Earth.
The crew; Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, are on the third day of their mission aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Led by NASA, Artemis II aims to take humans around the far side of the Moon and safely return them to Earth, marking a major milestone in renewed lunar exploration.
Describing the moment, Koch said the view felt unfamiliar and almost disorienting.
“Something about it senses that it is not the Moon I’m used to seeing,” she said, noting the stark contrast between the near side visible from Earth and the rugged, heavily cratered terrain of the far side.
As of late Saturday, mission data indicated the spacecraft had travelled more than 180,000 miles (about 289,681 kilometres) from Earth, placing the crew deep into cislunar space.
The Moon’s far side, often called the “dark side,” does not receive less sunlight but remains permanently out of view due to tidal locking.
Its surface is characterised by fewer smooth, dark plains compared with the near side, and is marked by a heavily cratered and uneven landscape.
