SEE IT: NASA Releases Stunning Photos From Lunar Flyby

NASA released 22 photos taken on Monday during the historic lunar flyby by Artemis II, revealing stunning views of the Moon and the crew at work.

The photos were taken after Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth. They conducted a roughly seven-hour flyby, capturing photos of Earth, the Moon’s surface, and recording observations for the NASA science crew back on the ground.

“Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back. Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon,” NASA posted on X Tuesday, sharing a link to photos taken during the lunar flyby.

One photo of an “Earthset” showed Earth starting to creep up over the rugged surface of the Moon, revealing “daytime for Australia and Oceania and night for rest of the Earth.”

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A similar photo showed a much smaller Earth peaking over the heavily cratered edge of the moon.

Another photo showed the Moon’s rugged topography highlighted by “the boundary between lunar day and night – where low-angle sunlight casts long, dramatic shadows across the surface,” NASA said.

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A photo captured from inside the Orion spacecraft showed Glover, Wiseman, and Hansen working on setting up a camera for the lunar flyby.

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Another picture of the Moon’s surface showed the “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,” NASA said.

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An “Earthrise,” where “a striking alignment of Earth and Moon, with the Moon in the top foreground and the Earth below” can be seen in the photo.

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During the middle of the lunar flyby, the four astronauts took a selfie. Routinely throughout the mission, the crew would rotate who was taking the photos, documenting, and communicating back with NASA.

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One photo shows Wiseman looking out the window of the Orion spacecraft as he prepares to start his observation shift.

“Throughout the course of the sixth day of the mission, Wiseman and his crewmates took turns at the windows, capturing images and video of the Moon, along with recorded observations. The astronauts are members of the science team, and the data they collect will shape the future of lunar science,” NASA said.

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The rest of the photos can be viewed at the NASA gallery.

On Monday night, the Artemis II completed its trip around the moon and began its journey back to Earth. The Orion spacecraft is expected to splash down on Friday in the Pacific Ocean, completing its 10-day mission.