April 2026

Artemis
Artemis 2
Photojournal
Description Staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California watch the launch of the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026, at the Space Flight Operations Facility, which operates the Deep Space Network (DSN). Soon after launch, the Artemis II crew communicated with the Near Space Network while they were […]
Posted April 9, 2026
Artemis
Artemis 2
Photojournal
Description A container of “lucky peanuts” sits above workstations within the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shortly before the launch of the Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026. Eating peanuts before launches and other major mission events is a longstanding tradition at JPL.
Posted April 9, 2026
Artemis
Artemis 2
Photojournal
Description The Artemis II mission patch appears in the center screen of the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 1, 2026, shortly before the mission launched to the Moon.
Posted April 9, 2026
Earth Observatory
Landsat 9
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
Snow
Topography
An early autumn storm left higher elevations in southern Argentina with a fresh and fleeting coat of white.
Posted April 9, 2026
Human Landing System Program
Artemis
Artemis 2
Earth's Moon
Marshall Space Flight Center
Twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency’s Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return to Earth Friday, April 10.
Posted April 8, 2026
Artemis 2
Eclipses
Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
The Moon, seen here backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse on April 6, 2026, is photographed by one of the cameras on the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings. During lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts observed a solar eclipse that only they could see due to their unique position. See more photos from […]
Posted April 8, 2026
A massive, old caldera and more recently formed craters shape the landscape in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
Posted April 8, 2026
Night Sky Network
Leo is a prominent sight for stargazers in April. Its famous sickle, punctuated by the bright star Regulus, draws many a beginning stargazer’s eyes, inviting deeper looks into some of Leo’s celestial delights, including a great double star and a famous galactic trio. Leo’s distinctive forward sickle, or “reverse question mark,” is easy to spot […]
Posted April 8, 2026
Artemis 2
Artemis
Earth
Earth's Moon
Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
Humans in Space
Editor’s note: Some photo captions were updated on April 8, 2026, to reflect ongoing scientific observations and discussion about the images. The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal some regions no human has seen, including a rare in-space solar eclipse.
Posted April 7, 2026
Artemis
Artemis 2
Earth
Earth's Moon
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 time. […]
Posted April 7, 2026
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