'Something we have never seen before': Artemis II crew describe far side of Moon
The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission are continuing their historic journey around the Moon, now entering the third day of what has been described as a landmark moment in human spaceflight. The astronauts have been sharing their experiences as they traverse the lunar far side, a region of the Moon that remains permanently turned away from Earth.
The far side of the Moon, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "dark side," is in fact fully illuminated by the Sun at various points during the lunar cycle. However, due to the Moon's synchronous rotation with Earth, this vast and rugged landscape had never been directly witnessed by human eyes until missions like Artemis began pushing the boundaries of crewed exploration.
The Artemis II mission represents the first time NASA has sent astronauts beyond low Earth orbit since the final Apollo mission in 1972. The crew's journey marks a critical step in NASA's broader Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in over five decades.
Travelling around the far side places the crew in a communication blackout with mission controllers on Earth, a challenging and isolating experience that underscores the vast distances involved in deep space travel. The crew has been documenting their observations as they pass over terrain that no human has ever seen with their own eyes from such a vantage point.
The Artemis programme is part of NASA's long-term ambitions to establish a sustained human presence near and on the Moon, which is also seen as a stepping stone toward future crewed missions to Mars. International partners and commercial space companies are playing a growing role in supporting these goals.
As the crew continues through the third day of their mission, space enthusiasts and scientists around the world are watching closely, with the journey widely regarded as one of the most significant achievements in modern space exploration.
