art002e012093 (April 6, 2026) - Hertzsprung Basin comes into view with its distinctive two concentric rings of mountains, revealing the scale of this ancient impact structure. Near the lower left, Vavilov crater—identified by its central peak—stands out, a feature often described by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby. Credit: NASA

art002e010208 (April 6, 2026) - As the Artemis II crew flew over the terminator, the astronauts described this boundary between day and night as "anything but a straight line." Crater rims along the terminator stand out as "islands" in the night. Giant chains of craters emanating from the 3.7-billion-year-old Orientale basin can be seen scouring the surface, stretching almost to the terminator. This tells a geologic story: these crater chains produced by the Orientale impact event mar the surface of the relatively flat Hertzsprung Basin (center of this image), which means that Hertzsprung Basin must be even older than Orientale!

Caption: This is a screen shot of the application the crew sees on their personal computing devices that guides them in the execution of the lunar science observation plan. This custom software was built by the crew lunar observations team, a subset of the Artemis II lunar science team. In this screenshot you can see Orientale basin, target number 12 circled on the bottom right of the Moon, and to its left, target number 13, Hertzsprung basin.

art002e012261 (April 6, 2026) - Multiple lunar landmarks come into view in this image, many of which were highlighted during the Artemis II crew’s observation call. Visible features include Ohm crater, Oceanus Procellarum, Grimaldi crater, Pierazzo crater, the newly proposed Carroll crater, and the expansive Hertzsprung Basin—together illustrating a range of geologic terrains, from dark volcanic plains to heavily cratered highlands and the remnants of ancient impact basins.

art002e021296 (April 6, 2026) – As the Artemis II crew flew around the far side of the Moon, they captured key scientific observations, photographs, videos, and records documenting critical observations to help scientists on the ground understand the composition and history of the lunar surface. Near the center of the view lies Hertzsprung basin, an ancient and expansive impact feature described by the Artemis II crew as darker in overall tone compared to surrounding terrain. Crew observations highlight a striking contrast in texture: the interior of Hertzsprung appears unusually smooth, “like a paved road,” while the outer regions transition into rougher, more jagged terrain. Subtle variations in brightness and color across the basin create a patchwork of lighter and darker areas, offering clues to its complex geologic history. Surrounding regions show evidence of ejecta and crater rays, with faint brownish and gray tones radiating across the highlands. Together, these features provide a dynamic view of one of the Moon’s oldest and most intriguing basins. Credit: NASA

art002e009287 (April 6, 2026) – Earth sets at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the Moon. Orientale basin is perched on the edge of the visible lunar surface. Hertzsprung Basin appears as two subtle concentric rings, which are interrupted by Vavilov, a younger crater superimposed over the older structure. The lines of indentations are secondary crater chains formed by ejecta from the massive impact that created Orientale. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.

art002e009282 (April 6, 2026) - A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The right portion of the image shows the transition from smooth material within an inner ring of mountains to more rugged terrain around the rim. Vavilov and other craters and their ejecta are accentuated by long shadows at the terminator, the boundary between lunar day and night. The image was captured with a handheld camera at a focal length of 400 mm, as the crew flew around the far side of the Moon.