NASA Releases Artemis II Crew's Handwritten Notes of Lunar Meteor Impacts
On April 6, 2026, NASA unveiled an annotated image of the Moon's far side captured during the Artemis II crew's lunar flyby. This screenshot, taken from a crew member's tablet, features insights from astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor "Ike" Glover, and Jeremy Hansen, highlighting the sites of impact flashes seen as the Moon obscured the Sun. Positioned 46,000 miles away in the Orion spacecraft, the crew detected five subtle light bursts caused by rocky debris colliding with the lunar surface. Their findings, validated by the science team, offer a valuable dataset on minor impacts, essential for evaluating potential hazards to future lunar habitats. The annotated image is included in the comprehensive lunar science dataset now accessible for research.
Key facts
- NASA released an image of the Moon's dark side with handwritten annotations by the Artemis II crew.
- The annotations were made during the lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.
- NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor "Ike" Glover, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen contributed notes in blue, green, and red.
- The crew observed five extremely faint "pinprick" bursts of light from 46,000 miles away.
- The flashes were caused by rocky fragments hitting the Moon.
- Scientists estimated the incoming rocks were no more than a couple of inches wide but traveling thousands of miles per hour.
- The observations were made during a nearly hour-long total solar eclipse on the Moon's far side.
- The full lunar science dataset from the April 2026 mission is now available to the global science community and the public.
Entities
Artists
- Reid Wiseman
- Victor "Ike" Glover
- Jeremy Hansen
Institutions
- NASA
- Canadian Space Agency
Locations
- Moon