Artemis II : la NASA dévoile les photos du survol historique de la Lune

La mission Artemis II a rempli son contrat. Ce lundi 6 avril, le vaisseau Orion est passé au plus près de la Lune, à seulement 6 545 km de sa surface. Mais le chiffre le plus fou est celui-ci : 406 773 kilomètres. C’est la distance qui séparait l’équipage de la Terre au point le plus éloigné de leur orbite, battant ainsi le record historique établi par la mission Apollo 13 en 1970.

Si les selfies à l’iPhone 17 Pro Max ont fait le tour des réseaux sociaux pour leur côté spontané, les clichés scientifiques de la surface lunaire et du « lever de Terre » proviennent d’un tout autre calibre.

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Artemis II : pour filmer la lune, voici le matériel utilisé par la NASA

Si les images nous parviennent avec une telle netteté, c’est grâce à un arsenal optique hybride, mêlant capteurs professionnels éprouvés et technologies grand public de pointe. L’analyse des données EXIF des fichiers bruts envoyés par la capsule Orion montre que n’est pas l’iPhone derrière.

Le duo Nikon D5 / Z9

Pour les clichés géologiques de la face cachée et le célèbre « lever de Terre », la NASA n’a pas fait de compromis.

Les métadonnées confirment l’usage de deux boîtiers complémentaires :

• Le Nikon D5 : véritable vétéran de l’espace, il a été utilisé avec un téléobjectif AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G. Sa mission ? Capturer les détails des cratères du bassin Orientale. Pour compenser la vitesse folle d’Orion (plus de 6 000 km/h au plus près de la Lune), les astronautes ont poussé l’obturation à 1/1000s afin d’éviter tout flou de bougé.
• Le Nikon Z9 : avec son capteur de 45,7 Mpx, il a servi à capturer l’immensité de l’horizon lunaire. Sa plage dynamique exceptionnelle a permis de préserver le bleu profond des océans terrestres sans saturer le blanc éclatant des nuages, malgré le contraste violent de l’espace.

art002e009301 (April 6, 2026) – Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth. The corona forms a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk, revealing details of the Sun’s outer atmosphere typically hidden by its brightness. Also visible are stars, typically too faint to see when imaging the Moon, but with the Moon in darkness stars are readily imaged. This unique vantage point provides both a striking visual and a valuable opportunity for astronauts to document and describe the corona during humanity’s return to deep space. The faint glow of the nearside of the Moon is visible in this image, having been illuminated by light reflected off the Earth.

art002e009289 (April 6, 2026) – The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. In this image, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater shows terraced edges and a relatively flat floor marked by central peaks — formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater.

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.

art002e009278 (April 6, 2026) – Just over half of the Moon fills the left half of the image. The near side, characterized by the dark patches of ancient lava, is visible on the top third of the lunar disk. Orientale basin, a round crater in the center with a black patch of ancient lava in the center, is wrapped in rings of mountains. The round black spot northeast of Orientale is Grimaldi crater, and Aristarchus crater is the bright white dot in the midst of a dark grey lava flow at the top of the image.

art002e009281 (April 6, 2026) – The Artemis II crew captures a portion of the Moon coming into view along the terminator – the boundary between lunar day and night – where low-angle sunlight casts long, dramatic shadows across the surface. This grazing light accentuates the Moon’s rugged topography, revealing craters, ridges, and basin structures in striking detail. Features along the terminator such as Jule Crater, Birkhoff Crater, Stebbins Crater, and surrounding highlands stand out. From this perspective, the interplay of light and shadow highlights the complexity of the lunar surface in ways not visible under full illumination. The image was captured about three hours into the crew’s lunar observation period, as they flew around the far side of the Moon on the sixth day of the mission.

art002e009288 (April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.

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.

art002e009283 (April 6, 2026) – Captured by the Artemis II crew, the heavily cratered terrain of the eastern edge of the South Pole-Aitken basin is seen with the shadowed terminator – the boundary between lunar day and night – at the top of the image. The South Pole-Aitken basin is the largest and oldest basin on the Moon, providing a glimpse into an ancient geologic history built up over billions of years.

Jeremy Hansen, l’astronaute canadien de la mission, a confié que l’expérience était déstabilisante : « Quand on était sur la face cachée, à regarder la Terre, on avait l’impression de ne plus être dans une capsule. On était transportés. Ça vous retourne l’esprit ».

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Où et quand regarder le direct d’Artemis II qui survole la Lune ? YouTube, NASA+, Netflix, Prime Video et plus encore

Pendant les sept heures de survol, les astronautes ont pu observer environ 21 % de la face cachée de la Lune, illuminée par le Soleil. Comme prévu, les communications ont été coupées pendant environ 40 minutes alors que la capsule transitait derrière l’astre. C’est durant ce silence radio que l’équipage a assisté à un « Earthset » (coucher de Terre) et à une éclipse solaire unique, où la Lune est venue masquer le Soleil directement sous leurs yeux.