Artemis II astronauts report unusual yellow and green hues on moon

Astronauts aboard NASA's Artemis II mission observed unexpected jaundiced yellow and swampy green colors on the lunar surface during a close flyby, Live Science reported. [1]

The ten-day mission took place from April 1 to April 10, 2026. The flight sent four crew members around the moon on a free-return trajectory. The crew included NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman as commander, Victor Glover as pilot, and Christina Koch as mission specialist, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen as mission specialist. [5]

Artemis II was the first crewed flight of the NASA-led Artemis program and the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew flew aboard the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, which was launched by the Space Launch System. The mission traveled farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight, surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13. [2][5]

The flight followed the uncrewed Artemis I test flight and serves as an intermediate step to prepare for future crewed lunar landings. [5]