Moon revealed in rare view of both near and far sides

The photo, taken on April 4 and released by NASA on April 6, shows the Moon’s near side on the right and its far side on the left. The near side is recognizable by its dark patches, which are ancient lava flows that are unique to that hemisphere.

According to NASA, the image was taken from the Orion spacecraft as the Artemis II crew traveled toward the Moon. The photo also includes a view near the Orientale Basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide impact crater that lies across the boundary between the Moon’s near and far sides.

In a post on social media platform X, NASA highlighted the unusual perspective captured by the crew.

“Make new friends, but keep the old. A new photo captures the Moon's near side on the right (the side we see from Earth, identifiable by its dark splotches) and its far side on the left. The Artemis II crew are the first to see the far side with human eyes,” the post reads.

The astronauts aboard Artemis II are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew launched aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1 from Cape Canaveral in Florida for a mission expected to last about 10 days.

NASA’s Artemis program, announced in 2019, aims to return humans to the Moon through regular crewed missions and establish a platform for future exploration, including eventual missions to Mars.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Artemis II crew shared first image of Earth from Orion spacecraft.