A solar eclipse as seen from the far side of the Moon. 54 minutes of totality. April 6, 2026. During the Artemis II lunar flyby, the crew witnessed something no human has ever seen before: a total solar eclipse from beyond the Moon. From their position aboard Orion, the Moon appeared large enough to completely block the Sun, producing nearly 54 minutes of totality, far beyond anything possible from Earth's surface. What surrounds the dark lunar disk is still being studied. The glowing halo could be the Sun's corona, zodiacal light, or a combination of both. The science community is actively investigating. Stars that are normally invisible when imaging the Moon became clearly visible with the Sun blocked. And on the Moon's nearside, a faint glow appears: Earthshine, sunlight bouncing off our planet and softly illuminating the lunar surface from 250,000 miles away. This image retains its original framing as captured aboard Orion. The visible grain is a natural result of imaging in extreme lighting conditions during deep space flight. We keep it intact. It's what makes this photograph real, not a render, not a simulation. A view that has never existed before April 6, 2026. And may not exist again for years. Photo: NASA / Artemis II, Lunar Flyby
