“The moon we are looking at is not the moon you see from Earth whatsoever,” Koch said. While Apollo astronauts also circled the moon at even closer distances and spied some of the mysterious far side, the circumstances of the Artemis II flyby differ in a few ways. “That period of our planet’s history that we can no longer get here, even if we go to the deepest parts of the ocean, is there on the moon,” Young said. By using different angles of light, they identified texture, color and topography — something that can hint at how the lunar surface has evolved. “Just having this crew describe visuals of the moon, visuals of the lunar surface, will give you goosebumps,” Young said.

Source: CNN April 06, 2026 15:57 UTC