Artemis's stunning Moon pictures - science or holiday photos?

Artemis's stunning Moon pictures - science or holiday photos?6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGeorgina RannardScience reporter'That is something we have never seen before': Artemis II crew describe far side of MoonNasa is releasing a steady stream of stunning pictures of the Moon and Earth taken by the astronauts on its Artemis II Moon mission. Attracting millions of likes on social media, the images show the two bodies from unusual angles in glorious high definition. There is no denying the drama: four astronauts are embarking on a mission that will take them further from Earth than any human has ventured since 1972. But is there unique scientific value in these images, or are these simply the equivalent of holiday photos?NASAAstronaut Christina Koch watching Earth from the Orion spacecraft (image taken with iPhone 17 Pro Max)Nasa wants the American public behind them to support the mission. They are live-streaming the 10-day journey, and the four astronauts are doing regular video updates, describing their progress in triumphant tones.The crew have been so excited to watch the world and Moon go by, Nasa has said, that the window inside the Orion spacecraft got dirty and the astronauts were sent instructions on how to clean it.This is the first time that digital cameras have been taken this far into space.Orion has 32 cameras and devices - 15 mounted onto the spacecraft and 17 handheld by the crew.According to Nasa, the astronauts are using standard 10-year-old cameras, including the Nikon D5, as well as GoPros and smartphones. Nasa's photostream on flickr even tells you the device used to take each of the published photos.On Friday we saw the first results of their intense observations."Hello, World" was taken by Commander Reid Wiseman when the mission was about equidistant from the Moon and Earth - 142,000 miles (228,500 km) from Earth, and 132,000 miles from the Moon.It shows two auroras as the Earth eclipses the Sun,...