NASA just dropped more than 12,000 Artemis II photos—here’s how to see them

The Artemis II mission was a remarkable journey for the four astronauts aboard, marking a significant milestone in space exploration. Launched on April 1, the mission made its closest approach to the moon on April 6 and returned to Earth on April 10. During this 10-day voyage, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen captured thousands of photographs. However, due to the priority given to mission-essential communications, only a few images were shared during the mission. Now, NASA has released over 12,000 photographs on their Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth website, offering a glimpse into the mission’s experiences. The images are part of a larger collection that will eventually be housed in NASA’s Planetary Data System. The Artemis II team has until October to publish preliminary reports and the full dataset, which will include all lunar images captured during the mission. QUESTION: How might the release of these photographs inspire future generations to pursue careers in space exploration and science?