The Artemis II crew has delivered breathtaking pictures from its moon fly-by mission, together with a historic photo voltaic eclipse considered from the far aspect of the Moon. Pilot Victor Glover described the second because the mission’s “best present.” Surprisingly, this unprecedented sight was recorded utilizing a 12-year-old GoPro Hero4 Black motion digicam.
Unprecedented View from House
The crew witnessed a photo voltaic eclipse in contrast to any seen earlier than by people. NASA launched the picture titled “Eclipsed: A View from Orion,” captured on April 6, 2026. It exhibits the Moon backlit by the Solar, with the Orion spacecraft seen within the foreground on the left. Key particulars embrace a brilliant spot beneath the Moon’s backside proper edge recognized as Saturn and one other on the proper edge as Mars.
A stitched video from Orion’s photo voltaic array wing cameras additional illustrates the Solar disappearing behind the Moon, unveiling a glowing halo across the lunar disk.
Stunning Digicam Alternative and Settings
This eclipse picture joins different mission highlights captured with sudden gear: a Lumix GH5 for takeoff photographs, a Nikon D5 DSLR for the Earthset picture, and iPhone 17s for Earth selfies. The GoPro Hero4 Black, launched in 2014 and now discontinued, stands out for its age amid a multi-billion-dollar mission.
EXIF information reveals the settings: guide white stability, auto publicity, ISO 800, and a 5-second publicity time. The Hero4 Black launched ProTune guide controls, enabling sluggish shutter speeds, together with Bluetooth and WiFi—options enhanced in newer fashions just like the Hero 13 Black.
Extra Mission Moments
The GoPro Hero4 Black additionally recorded 4 different key pictures shared publicly. When requested concerning the gear choice, GoPro responded: “Sadly, we aren’t within the place to go any deeper on these questions than what’s publicly obtainable—NASA has very strict tips on their model, and we are able to’t communicate on their behalf.”
Crew members will probably tackle these digicam decisions upon return, however for now, the beautiful visuals spotlight the mission’s ongoing successes, with extra pictures anticipated.

