Daily briefing: The Artemis II special

## Summary
See more on NASA’s free image repository on Flickr . (NASA) Backstory: from the Nature reporter’s perspective Here at mission control, reporters and VIPs are flooding the humid, grassy campus of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. (I’ve also spotted deer and possums ambling around.) Everywhere you look there are images — including life-sized cutouts — of the four Artemis II astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. I captured some of the key moments on Nature ’s live blog ; here are two of my most memorable: • Audible gasps among the science team as the astronauts reported seeing green and brown colours on the Moon. “The more I look at the Moon, the browner and browner it looks,” one of the astronauts said. Quote of the day “Copy, Moon joy.” The response of NASA mission control to a laundry list of “absolutely unbelievable” sights reported by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman is becoming somewhat of a catchphrase of this mission. ( Nature live blog | Leisurely scroll ) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01125-3 One of yesterday’s most moving moments happened as the crew set a record for the farthest distance from Earth. Thanks for reading, Alexandra Witze, correspondent, Nature With contributions by Flora Graham & Jacob Smith • Nature Briefing: Careers — insights, advice and award-winning journalism to help you optimize your working life • Nature Briefing: Microbiology — the most abundant living entities on our planet — microorganisms — and the role they play in health, the environment and food systems • Nature Briefing: Anthropocene — climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and geoengineering • Nature Briefing: AI & Robotics — 100% written by humans, of course • Nature Briefing: Cancer — a weekly newsletter written with cancer researchers in mind • Nature Briefing: Translational Research — covers biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma Related Articles Daily briefing: NASA’s Artemis II Moon mission launches Daily briefing: Women’s academic careers are knocked by parenthood much more than men’s Daily briefing: Suck-up chatbots can encourage real-life rudeness Daily briefing: The surprising science behind red-light therapy Jobs Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Locations: Shanghai or Madrid – hybrid working model Closing Date: 21st April 2026 About Springer Natur...

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Majestic photos of Earth juxtaposed against the Moon, as seen from Artemis II, are sure to become iconic portraits of our home planet. Our photo team stayed up late last night hoping for these first images , but we only spotted glimpses on the tablet of commander Reid Wiseman on the mission's livestream. Now they are here to marvel at.
See more on NASA’s free image repository on Flickr
. (NASA)
Backstory: from the Nature reporter’s perspective
Here at mission control, reporters and VIPs are flooding the humid, grassy campus of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. (I’ve also spotted deer and possums ambling around.) Everywhere you look there are images — including life-sized cutouts — of the four Artemis II astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The sound of the mission’s livestreamed audio echoes through the lobby of the giant auditorium, where media are staked out below a giant mural of space shuttles and space stations.
After all the years building up to this flight, to the return of humans to the Moon, I’m almost surprised by how well the mission has been going. Apart from some minor glitches, like the
infamous space toilet
that was “no-go” for a while, the flight has proceeded remarkably smoothly. It almost belies the enormous technical challenges of designing and building the rocket and capsule that ultimately took these four souls around the Moon.
Science is not the main point of Artemis II. But as several scientists with the mission pointed out to me this week, the voices of the astronauts soar with joy when they talk about observing the Moon, the Sun and the stars. Pilot Victor Glover is turning out to be something of the poet of the mission, waxing eloquent on the “magic” he sees in lunar features, such as the illuminated mountains he calls “islands of light”.
Amidst the chaos and fighting that reigns these days across much of planet Earth, Artemis II is turning out to be the respite we all needed.
News
Lunar fly-by — live
I watched the Orion capsule make its swing around the Moon from the ‘Science Evaluation Room’, a brand-new workspace in the main mission control building. The Artemis II crew were in constant contact with the scientific team on Earth, describing their observations — both objective and emotional — and batting questions back and forth about what they were seeing. I captured some of the
key moments on
Nature
’s live blog
; here are two of my most memorable:
• Audible gasps among the science team as the astronauts reported seeing green and brown colours on the Moon. “The more I look at the Moon, the browner and browner it looks,” one of the astronauts said. Detecting colour differences was one of the science team’s main goals.
• They saw impact flashes! These bursts of light happen when tiny meteorites hit the lunar surface. Mission scientists were hoping the astronauts would spot some, but couldn’t be sure. Artemis II’s science officer Kelsey Young
put her hand up to her head in awe
in mission control on hearing that they had.
Nature live blog | Leisurely scroll
News
What’s good about the far side of the Moon
Lunar scientists, in particular, were eager to discover what the astronauts observe as the first people to see much of the far side of the Moon with the naked eye. (Apollo astronauts travelled too close to the surface to get a wide view, and it was dark.) The far side of the Moon is markedly different to its near side, with far fewer vast lava flows, a thicker crust and many more impact craters. At the
top of many researchers’ lists is the Orientale basin
— a huge, multi-ringed impact basin in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. Orientale “holds a lot of importance in understanding impact cratering across the Solar System”, says science officer Kelsey Young.
Nature | 8 min read
Image credit: NASA
Video
‘Butterflies’: Artemis scientists speak
Hear from some of the
leading scientists on the Artemis team
talk about what they’re most excited about for the mission.
Nature | 2 min video
Opinion
The Moon belongs to all of us
“Between 1969 and 1972, Apollo astronauts left 96 bags of human waste — urine, faeces and vomit — on the lunar surface,” notes aerospace engineer Moriba Jah. “But who decided it was acceptable to leave them there?” Jah has spent his career studying the environment of Earth’s orbit, which is “quietly filling with debris and dead satellites”. He urges us to consider
how to prevent the Moon — a shared domain that is meaningful in every human culture — becoming similarly tarnished
. “With Artemis, we have a chance to go to the Moon not as conquerors of a new frontier, but as stewards,” he writes. “That would be a giant leap.”
Nature | 8 min read
Context
China might be next to stand on the Moon
China w

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- A blaze aloft at night / sent a glimmer of hope flying past the desolation / It ignites around Moonshine, so we can all dazzle at the suspended blue marble / It twinkles again across the void / for a blistering comeback, and a tactful splash / Let’s keep the path glowing for these engines of progress, so we can ferociously return / To our cosmic companion, like never before.

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- Detecting colour differences was one of the science team’s main goals. • They saw impact flashes!
- Nature live blog | Leisurely scroll News What’s good about the far side of the Moon Lunar scientists, in particular, were eager to discover what the astronauts observe as the first people to see much of the far side of the Moon with the naked eye. (Apollo astronauts travelled too close to the surface to get a wide view, and it was dark.) The far side of the Moon is markedly different to its near side, with far fewer vast lava flows, a thicker crust and many more impact craters.
- At the top of many researchers’ lists is the Orientale basin — a huge, multi-ringed impact basin in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.
- Orientale “holds a lot of importance in understanding impact cratering across the Solar System”, says science officer Kelsey Young.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers moon, nature, mission topics. Notable strengths include discussion of moon. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1753.