What the 800-Gigabyte Artemis II Archive Contains
The release uploaded to NASA’s Planetary Data System features more than 11,000 full-resolution photos and videos captured by the crew’s handheld devices and the Orion spacecraft’s onboard camera systems. Alongside the visual media, the archive stores 8.5 hours of audio recordings documenting the crew’s scientific observations of the lunar surface. Crew-annotated images highlight specific points of interest mapped during the flyby.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen completed the nearly 10-day test flight around the Moon that launched on April 1, 2026. EDT on April 10, 2026.
Observing Meteor Impact Flashes on the Dark Side of the Moon
Mashable reported that Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and crewmate Jeremy Hansen spotted five tiny sparks from space rocks slamming into the lunar surface. These events represent likely the faintest impact flashes ever witnessed by the human eye. NASA timed the observation window for when the Moon blocked the Sun from Orion’s view, allowing the astronauts’ eyes to adjust to the darkness while sunlight reflected off Earth illuminated the unlit side of the lunar surface.
During the impact, extreme kinetic force instantly vaporized the incoming rock and a small amount of the lunar surface, generating a split-second plasma glow that faded quickly in the vacuum of space. Based on the faintness of the signatures, scientists estimate the incoming projectiles measured only a few centimeters across, comparable to the size of a grape or a walnut. The crew sketched each location on a tablet while their memories remained fresh.
Commander Reid Wiseman called out the first sighting during the mission, stating, “I just saw a flash, 100 percent,” placing it at about the 7 or 8 o’clock position on the Moon. The crew logged sightings that clearly differed from optical artifacts caused by cosmic rays passing through the spacecraft and striking their optic nerves directly.
Publications Accompanying the NASA Data Release
NASA released three key publications alongside the raw dataset to outline the mission’s science operations. The Artemis II Preliminary Lunar Science Report, the Artemis II Lunar Science Operations Report, and the Artemis II Lunar Science Data User Guide provide an overview of the lunar mission data and a technical summary of how the science plan was developed and executed. Kelsey Young, NASA’s Artemis II lunar science lead, noted the integration of science into flight operations during the mission.
