Moon and Earth captured by the Artemis II crew © NASA

From the moon"s cratered surface, Earth can appear as a thin, glowing crescent against the darkness—a rare view that reverses our usual perspective. This stark landscape, shaped by billions of years of impacts, preserves a record of the early solar system. Earlier this year, Artemis II became the first crewed mission to fly around the moon since 1972. Its successful 10-day journey tested the Orion spacecraft and other systems that will support future lunar missions.