kottke.org posts about Artemis
NASA has made available more than a dozen mobile wallpapers of photos taken during the Artemis II mission for free download. Basic Apple Guy has made some wallpapers of his own (that are slightly larger than NASA’s and better for iPhones). I have also made a few of my own: Earth Rising Over the Moon With the Orion Capsule in the Foreground, A Sliver of Earth Over the Moon, and Kubrickian Earth.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Interstitial tip: if you’re using an iPhone with iOS 26, tap the Spatial Scene button when you’re editing your wallpaper and the phone will turn any of these images into a 3D-ish scene that moves when you move your phone. Works best with images containing multiple objects (like the Earthrises). Makes you feel a little bit more like you’re there. (This is also an amazing setup.)
These are all real photos, cropped from the originals shared by NASA on Flickr and their website.
I also went back and looked at some of the images from the Artemis I mission, which sent an Orion capsule around the Moon without a human crew. Here are a few wallpapers made from photos from that mission: Earth Moon Capsule, Lens Flare Trio, and Lunar Surface.
Again, these three are from the Artemis I mission in late 2022. The first one works especially well with the Spatial Scene mode on iOS 26.
This shot from Artemis II of the Moon eclipsing the Sun is one of the most breathtaking astronomical photos I’ve ever seen. Holy shit.
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.
Thanks to KDO reader Scott for pointing me to NASA’s Flickr account, which is possibly the easiest way to look at photos taken by the Artemis II mission. Like this one:
And this one — then maybe I’ll stop (maybe):
P.S. If you need some Artemis II wallpapers for your phone, right this way.
The commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon, Reid Wiseman, took this photo of the Earth as the spacecraft speeds away our planet.
There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun.
That is so cool. Worth clicking through to see the high-resolution image.
Over the weekend, NASA’s Artemis I mission returned from a 25-day trip to the Moon. The mission was a test-run of the rockets, systems, and spacecraft that will return humans to the surface of the Moon. Visual imaging has been an integral part of even the earliest space missions — strap a camera to a spacecraft, let the people see what space looks like, and they will be inspired. Well, the photographs returned by Artemis I’s Orion spacecraft have certainly been inspirational. Working from NASA’s archive of images (on Flickr too), I’ve selected some of the most interesting and dramatic photos from the mission. The one at the top, showing a crescent Earth rising over the Moon’s surface, might be one of my favorite space photos ever (and that’s really saying something) — you can see a bigger version of it here.
Before the holidays, NASA announced their plan for going back to the Moon by 2024.
With the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with our commercial and international partners and establish sustainable exploration by 2028. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap — sending astronauts to Mars.
The plan involves many supply runs and a small space station orbiting the Moon so that things like rovers and lunar landers are in place when manned missions need to land on the Moon or even continue on to Mars. You can check out all of the details on NASA’s website.
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