NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, has a storied history of spaceflight and aeronautics research. Today, the center carries on the traditions of Neil Armstrong, and others, by supporting NASA's return to the Moon with Artemis Il and follow on space missions.
art002e009567 (April 6, 2026) - NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the Moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis II crew’s deep space journey at 6:42 p.m. ET on the sixth day of the mission. The right side of NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen lit up by the Sun. A waxing crescent Moon is [...]
Photo of the Day Do you see the horse's head? What you are seeing is not the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part of the here-imaged molecular cloud complex is reflection nebula IC 4592. Reflection nebulas are [...]
The Moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, is photographed by NASA’s Orion spacecraft on Monday, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II mission. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the [...]
NASA The Artemis II crew captured this view of Earth setting on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. As the astronauts flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over [...]
This photo shows NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, preparing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage for shipment at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. NASA/Eric Bordelon Digital creators and social media users are invited to register to attend the rollout of the third SLS (Space Launch System) core [...]
Midway through their lunar observation period on April 6, 2026, the Artemis II crew members, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft.Credit: NASA Media will have an opportunity at 9:45 p.m. EDT on [...]
(April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds [...]
The Artemis II crew – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Astronaut Jeremy Hansen (far left) and NASA astronauts Christina Koch (center left), Reid Wiseman (center right), and Victor Glover (right) – participated in a live conversation with President Donald J. Trump following their historic lunar flyby during Flight Day 6. NASA The Artemis II mission wrapped [...]
The Orion spacecraft docked to the Gateway space station. Orion will visit Gateway for the first time on the Artemis IV mission when astronauts will use it to deliver the International Habitat (I-Hab) module to Gateway. Orion will return to Gateway to deliver additional elements on Artemis V and VI. [...]
