Flashes, lunar dust, and Earth lighting up space: What the Artemis II astronauts saw as they circled the Moon

“When the Moon became apparent (after leaving the far side of the natural satellite), it was so bright, so bright, that it looked out of place. The gray color of the Moon and the black of space seemed to combine together”Glover recounted.

While Koch described the Moon becoming “in a sponge of light” that “was reflecting light and lit up when the Earth got close enough” to the ship’s field of vision.

The astronauts, who on Monday became the first humans to orbit the Moon after more than 50 years, found on their trip that the satellite presents colors “matte and brown”, compared to its usual gray.

Although other astronauts traveled to the far side of the Moon before, the Artemis II crew went further than any other human and observed more about the position of the Sun, allowing them to see formations such as Ohm, a crater on the far side, in more detail.

“I made some correlations and mentioned that it was like seeing the Grand Canyon (of the United States), where you can see different layers”Glover narrated.

The astronauts are now on their way to Earth, where they hope to land on Friday off California, after having left the lunar influence this Tuesday and having flown over the Moon on Monday.

Artemis II took off last Wednesday from Cape Canaveral (Florida) for a ten-day mission that marked the return of humans to lunar orbit after half a century and that hopes to lay the foundations for a future base on the United States Moon.