Artemis II astronauts annotate photo of Moon eclipsing the Sun from lunar mission

NASA has released an annotated photograph taken by a member of the Artemis II crew showing the Moon eclipsing the Sun, marked up with handwritten notes identifying features observed during the mission. The image, captured as an April 6, 2026, screenshot from a crew member's tablet, shows a darkened lunar disc with notations added by the astronauts on board.

According to NASA, the annotations were made by astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor "Ike" Glover, both of NASA, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. The crew used the markings, shown in different colors for each contributor, to record impact flashes and their locations as observed during the eclipse event.

Part of ongoing lunar exploration efforts

Artemis II is intended to send astronauts around the Moon as part of NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a sustained presence there in coordination with international partners including the Canadian Space Agency. Observations such as the annotated eclipse image contribute to the broader scientific record gathered during crewed lunar missions.

NASA routinely releases imagery and documentation from its missions to provide public insight into the work being conducted by astronauts in space, including informal records like the handwritten tablet notes highlighted in this release. The agency has not provided further detail on the scientific significance of the specific impact flashes noted in the image.