Artemis II mission launched on April 01, 2026 is now closer to the Moon than it is to Earth with four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, namely
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman (50), Artemis II commander
NASA astronaut Victor Glover (49), Artemis II pilot
NASA astronaut Christina Koch (47), Artemis II mission specialist
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen (50), Artemis II mission specialist
The Orion, on its way to the moon, caught a glimpse of the Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk, exciting scientists and stargazers. The particular feature exists on the far side of the moon, which is not visible to the human eye (until now). The crew will catch more than just a fleeting glimpse later tonight, which will be livestreamed by Netflix as well.
What is the Orientale basin or Mare Orientale?
Per the space agency,
Mare Orientale is seen as the narrow feature on the right limb of the Moon, just past the darker blob of crater Grimaldi.
It is a 930 km wide impact crater on the far side of the moon that scientists believe was formed 3.8 billion years ago by an asteroid impactor roughly 40 miles wide on the far side of the Moon. The catastrophic impact created a tidal wave 11 times taller than Mount Everest, forming three distinctive concentric rings.
Why is the Moon’s farside not visible from Earth?
There are four hemispheric regions of the moon namely, 1) Nearside, 2) Farside, 3) East and 4) West, as depicted in the NASA composite below. The farside is tidally locked away from the Earth and hence invisible. However lunar probes
On the historic pic captured by the Orion, NASA quipped:
This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes.
Meanwhile one user on X/Twitter jibed, “Not one Apollo astronaut saw this ? All 27 of them? Incredible.” The European Space Agency (ESA) clarified that it happened with astronaut Ron Evans. Replying to another user on the enigma of the dark side of the moon ESA quipped,
There’s no such thing as the ‘dark side of the Moon’ (other than a Pink Floyd album). It’s the far side. While it never faces Earth, the far side receives sunlight just as frequently as the near side that constantly faces Earth.
OK this is cool. The first time humans have seen the whole Mare Orientale on the far side of the Moon with their own eyes. Usually hidden from our view on Earth, even Apollo astronauts didn’t see it completely because of their orbit and illumination conditions (Apollo 17 caught a… https://t.co/j1lYCyd9kI pic.twitter.com/bVgS3uc8pw
— European Space Agency (@esa) April 5, 2026
In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. pic.twitter.com/iqjod6gqgz
— NASA (@NASA) April 5, 2026
(FYI Mare Orientale is seen as the feature narrow feature on the right limb of the Moon, just past the darker blob of crater Grimaldi 😉)
— European Space Agency (@esa) April 5, 2026
There’s no such thing as the ‘dark side of the Moon’ (other than a Pink Floyd album). It’s the far side. While it never faces Earth, the far side receives sunlight just as frequently as the near side that constantly faces Earth.
— European Space Agency (@esa) April 5, 2026
Only Ron Evans, see https://t.co/GzDppQeSUe
— European Space Agency (@esa) April 5, 2026
Meanwhile, the entire lunar flyby operation will be livestreamed by NASA and also Netflix. The OTT giant had struck a deal with the premier space agency; however, it did not stream the Artemis 2 launch.
Netflix will livestream Artemis II’s flyby of the Moon tomorrow.
The stream will begin at 1pm EST. pic.twitter.com/xhHsWljtnY
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 6, 2026
The Artemis II lunar flyby will be livestreamed tonight at the following time for
Middle East & India: 9:00 PM GST | 10:30 PM IST
North America: 10:00 AM PT | 11:00 AM MT | 12:00 PM CT | 1:00 PM ET
South America: 2:00 PM BRT
UK & Europe: 5:00 PM UTC | 6:00 PM BST | 7:00 PM CEST
Japan: 2:00 AM JST (Tuesday, April 7)
See Also: Artemis II: How Is NASA Communicating With The Orion Crew Millions Of Miles Away In Deep Space?
See Also: Artemis II: Toilet Malfunction In NASA’s Orion Spacecraft After Clean Launch? Here’s What Happened
See ALso: Artemis II Crew Drops Earth’s ‘Blue Marble’ Pic Of Our Generation As Orion Heads To Moon
Cover: NASA