Artemis II’s lunar flyby: capturing history from 250,000 miles away

Live Science spoke with Artemis II lead INCO Chris White about coordinating hundreds of camera commands for Orion’s close lunar flyby, the 40‑minute loss of signal behind the Moon, and the meticulous scripting that produced dramatic photos—including eclipse‑style imagery showing the Moon, Earth, and planets like Venus, Saturn and Mars. White describes the Moon “looking wrong” from the far side angle, the need to tweak exposure to reveal color nuances, and the sense of relief when ground contact returned with the footage the next day. He emphasizes it was a true team effort across flight control, engineering, and imagery, and says he plans to stay involved with Artemis III.