Artemis astronauts glimpse Moon's 'Grand Canyon' ahead of historic lunar flyby

## Summary
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST HOUSTON: The Artemis astronauts have taken in sights of the Moon never before seen by human eyes, crew members reported on Sunday (Apr 5) as their spacecraft crossed the two-thirds mark on their journey to a long-anticipated lunar flyby . The US space agency published on Sunday an image taken by the Artemis crew, showing a distant Moon with the Orientale basin visible. "This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes," NASA said. From left: Artemis II mission astronauts NASA's pilot Victor Glover, NASA's commander Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency's mission specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA's mission specialist Christina Koch as they attend a "VIP call" with Canadian children from inside the Orion spacecraft while on their way to the Moon on Apr 4, 2026. (Photo: AFP/NASA) Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch looks back at Earth through the window of the Orion spacecraft on Apr 2, 2026. (Photo: AFP/NASA/Handout) FLYBY PLANS REVIEWED NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon. A view of the Orion capsule taken with a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day into the Artemis II mission towards the Moon on Apr 3, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/NASA) NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B on Apr 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral. (Photo: AP/Chris O'Meara) NEVER BEFORE SEEN The Artemis 2 astronauts have already seen brand-new perspectives. "Last night, we did have our first view of the moon far side, and it was just absolutely spectacular," Koch, the mission specialist, said during a live interview from space.

## Article Content
Advertisement
World
Artemis astronauts glimpse Moon's 'Grand Canyon' ahead of historic lunar flyby
The next major milestone is expected overnight, at which point the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence" where the Moon's gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's.
The Orientale basin can be seen on the right edge of the lunar disk in this view of the Moon taken by an Artemis II crew member on Apr 4, 2026. This is the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. (Photo: NASA)
05 Apr 2026 04:48PM
(Updated: 05 Apr 2026 05:31PM)
Bookmark
Bookmark
Share
WhatsApp
Telegram
Facebook
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
Set CNA as your preferred source on Google
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
HOUSTON: The Artemis astronauts have taken in sights of the Moon never before seen by human eyes, crew members reported on Sunday (Apr 5) as their spacecraft crossed the two-thirds mark on their journey to a
long-anticipated lunar flyby
.
As the astronauts went to bed in the early hours of Sunday, closing out the fourth day of their 10-day mission, they were nearly 321,869km from Earth and 131,966km from the Moon, according to NASA's online dashboard.
The US space agency published on Sunday an image taken by the Artemis crew, showing a distant Moon with the Orientale basin visible.
"This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes," NASA said. The massive crater, which resembles a bullseye, had been photographed before by orbiting cameras.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Speaking to Canadian children live from space, astronaut Christina Koch said the crew was most excited to see the basin - sometimes known as the Moon's "Grand Canyon".
"It's very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today, really, when we were privileged enough to see it," Koch said during the question-and-answer session hosted by the Canadian Space Agency.
The next major milestone is expected overnight Sunday into Monday, at which point the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence", where the Moon's gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's.
If all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the Moon the astronauts - Americans Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen - could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
From left: Artemis II mission astronauts NASA's pilot Victor Glover, NASA's commander Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency's mission specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA's mission specialist Christina Koch as they attend a "VIP call" with Canadian children from inside the Orion spacecraft while on their way to the Moon on Apr 4, 2026. (Photo: AFP/NASA)
Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch looks back at Earth through the window of the Orion spacecraft on Apr 2, 2026. (Photo: AFP/NASA/Handout)
FLYBY PLANS REVIEWED
NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon.
Earlier, the astronauts kicked off their day with a meal that included scrambled eggs and coffee, NASA said, and had woken up to the tune of Chappell Roan's pop smash Pink Pony Club.
"Morale is high on board," commander Reid Wiseman told Houston's Mission Control center as the space crew's work day began.
The father of two girls was in high spirits in part because he had the chance to speak with his daughters from space.
"We're up here, we're so far away, and for a moment, I was reunited with my little family," he told a live press conference. "It was just the greatest moment of my entire life."
It's a feat Wiseman has dubbed "Herculean" and which humanity has not accomplished in more than half-a-century.
The astronauts have had geology training in order to be able to photograph and describe lunar features, including ancient lava flows and impact craters.
They'll see the Moon from a unique vantage point compared with the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.
Apollo flights flew about 113km above the lunar surface, but the Artemis 2 crew will be just over 6,400km at their closest approach, which will allow them to see the complete, circular surface of the Moon, including regions near both poles.
A view of the Orion capsule taken with a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day into the Artemis II mis

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Speaking to Canadian children live from space, astronaut Christina Koch said the crew was most excited to see the basin - sometimes known as the Moon's "Grand Canyon". "It's very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today, really, when we were privileged enough to see it," Koch said during the question-and-answer session hosted by the Canadian Space Agency.

### Implications
- Advertisement World Artemis astronauts glimpse Moon's 'Grand Canyon' ahead of historic lunar flyby The next major milestone is expected overnight, at which point the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence" where the Moon's gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's.
- The next major milestone is expected overnight Sunday into Monday, at which point the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence", where the Moon's gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's.
- If all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the Moon the astronauts - Americans Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen - could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
- The astronauts have had geology training in order to be able to photograph and describe lunar features, including ancient lava flows and impact craters.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers moon, artemis, astronauts topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1217.