NASA has released more than 800 gigabytes of scientific data from the Artemis II mission, which sent four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth. The data has been uploaded to the Planetary Data System - the US space agency's public archive of planetary mission data. The collection includes over 11,000 full-resolution images and video captured by crew handheld cameras and the Orion spacecraft's cameras. It also includes 8.5 hours of audio recordings in which astronauts describe their scientific observations of the lunar surface. Some of the information has not been available before.
The archive also includes images with notes added by astronauts during the flight. They noted differences in color, relief and dynamic phenomena that they observed as they passed by the Moon. According to NASA, these human observations complement data from previous missions of the “Apollo“ program and robotic vehicles.
Artemis II is launched on April 1, 2026 from the “Kennedy“ Space Center in Florida. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission lasted 9 days, 1 hour and 32 minutes, and returned to Earth on April 10.
Along with the main array, NASA published a preliminary science report for Artemis II, a report on science operations during the mission, and a guide to using the data. The documents describe the science program, the crew's work, and the structure of the published files. According to NASA, open access allows scientists, educators, and other researchers to analyze the materials and compare them with the information accumulated so far about the Moon. The agency indicates that the results are already being used in the planning of Artemis III and subsequent missions for long-term exploration of the lunar surface.