'Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far side

Space'Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far sideIn an interview with NBC News from the Orion capsule, the crew described seeing the moon from a new angle, feelings of awe and humility, and their very human concerns in space.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleTom Costello speaks with Artemis II crew during their moon mission13:18Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 4, 2026, 7:22 PM EDTBy Tom Costello and Denise ChowHOUSTON — The Artemis II astronauts are now more than halfway to the moon and have caught their first glimpses of the lunar far side.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In an interview with NBC News from space, NASA astronaut Christina Koch described seeing the moon out the window of the Orion capsule and realizing that it looked different from what she was accustomed to on Earth.“The darker parts just aren’t quite in the right place,” she said. “And something about you senses that is not the moon that I’m used to seeing.”Koch said that she and her crewmates, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, compared their views to their study materials to understand what they were seeing.“That is the dark side. That is something we have never seen before,” Koch said.NASA astronaut Christina Koch is illuminated by a screen inside the Orion spacecraft on Friday. To the right, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen peers out of one of Orion's windows.Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen launched Wednesday on a 10-day trip around the moon, becoming the first people to embark on a lunar mission in more than 50 years. The astronauts were also the first humans to lift off aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. They have been officially moon-bound since Thursday evening, when the spacecraft conducted a key engine burn that...