Image source, NASA

Alongside witnessing a total solar eclipse, Nasa's head of science Dr Nicola Fox says the Artemis II crew saw several “new, small craters” while observing the far side of the Moon.

Fox tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the craters appeared as “bright patches” and were visible to the naked eyes of the crew as a series of colours, including shades of brown and blue.

The astronauts also described the line dividing the sunlit and dark side of the Moon as a “jagged edge” due to the celestial body’s craters.

Image source, European Space Agency

It is hoped the Artemis II mission will help to usher in a new era of space travel - and one of those hoping to be part of it is Dr Meganne Christian, a reserve astronaut with the European Space Agency.

The dual British national began training in January 2025 after being selected from thousands of applicants, getting a taste of the rigorous preparations the Artemis crew will have gone through for moments like losing contact with Earth.

She tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the astronauts will have performed "simulation after simulation, knowing what's going to happen in any given moment - they were ready for it".

Asked about the importance of this mission, she says: "This is a test flight, preparing us for the future of exploration, preparing us for future landing sites... We are not just going to the moon, we are going there to stay."

There was a poignant moment onboard the capsule yesterday when conversation turned to proposing names for craters on the Moon to memorialise this record-breaking voyage.

One of the craters should be named Integrity after their Orion spacecraft, the crew agreed - while another should be named after astronaut Reid Wiseman's late wife Carroll who died in 2020.

The name proposals will need to be formally submitted to the International Astronomical Union,which governs the naming of features in space - but we suspect they'll be open to the suggestion.

Esme Stallard
Science reporter

We've just heard from the crew onboard the Orion spacecraft, who have bid goodnight to the teams on Earth after a day which saw them surpass a space-travel record.

Mission control tells the astronauts: "We got a sneak peek at your imagery. It is absolutely stunning, we are all completely in awe of the work you did today.

"Thank you so much for bringing us on this journey with you. We hope you have sweet dreams of Moon joy."

The crew replies: "We're glad they're appreciated. We certainly appreciate it up here."

Nasa's head of science Dr Nicola Fox says the Artemis II Moon mission is all about "doing the work to set up that sustained presence on the Moon".

Artemis IV, which is expected to launch in early 2028, will land humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972, Fox tells BBC Breakfast.

She says Nasa's ultimate goal is to have astronauts living and working there continuously, which will pave the way for the "next giant leap in exploration, to send crews to Mars".

Image source, Getty Images

Retired Nasa astronaut Terry Virts, who was formerly commander of the International Space Station, says the crew of the shuttle had to allow gravity to take over in order to slingshot the moon.

He says: "They are in deep space with no way to be rescued, getting the harshest radiation that doesn't even exist on Earth, surrounded by instant death just a few millimetres outside of that thin aluminium shell.

"The entire 10-day mission is not exactly super safe but basically nothing happened today. The only thing that happened today was the moon flew by the capsule.

"They didn't do a manoeuvre - they allowed the moon's gravity to kind of bend the shape of their trajectory 180 degrees and bring them back to Earth.

"So it wasn't like they had to do a big complicated manoeuvre or docking or landing or anything like that.

"Sir Isaac Newton is in charge - gravity is what's manoeuvring the capsule now."

Esme Stallard
Science reporter

Image source, NASA

Now contact has successfully been remade with the Artemis II crew I am frantically refreshing the Nasa's photos stream, which will bring us all the images they took while observing the far side of the Moon.

Both the record distance, illumination levels and particular orbit means that the crew have seen sights that no human has ever laid their eyes on.

They have digital cameras with them which they are using to capture the sights - but it is what they saw from the spacecraft that has many scientists back on Earth most excited.

Both China and India have sent probes over this side in the last few years to capture images - so is having humans see it for themselves exciting from a scientific point of view, or purely in terms of human exploration?

Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and co-host of BBC's series The Sky at Night, told my colleague Georgina Rannard: "The value of the images coming back from Artemis and its crew is artistic, not scientific."

And yet, ask any former geology student like me and you are still trained to make observations and sketches with the human eye. Science puts great store by our own inbuilt cameras.

Abbie MacKinnon, curator of the Science Museum's space gallery, says: "I know we have... satellite imagery and everything like that. It's just not the same as humans there deciding what images to take and what looks good."

It has been a historic day for the Artemis II crew, who are now bound for Earth after completing a fly-by of the Moon. Here's what has happened over the past few hours:

• At around 19:00 BST, the Artemis II crew broke the record for the furthest humans have ever travelled from Earth - the previous record of 248,655 miles (400,171km) from Earth was set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970
• The Orion spacecraft then passed behind the Moon, temporarily losing contact with Nasa back on Earth - the outage was expected and lasted around 40 minutes
• "Houston, Integrity, comms check," were the first words from mission specialist Christina Koch when contact was re-established, who also said it was "so great to hear the Earth again"
• While flying behind the Moon, the Orion spacecraft also reached its maximum distance from Earth - a new record for the furthest distance travelled by humans from our home planet
• The new record has been set at 252,756 miles (406,771km)
• Next for the crew was a quick break before observing total solar eclipse, which lasted about an hour - the astronauts spent that time taking photographs and telling the science team in Houston what they could see, noting that there were "not enough adjectives" to describe the "surreal" experience
• As the four astronauts began the process of sending all their data from the past seven hours of observation to Earth, they also received a call from US President Donald Trump - you can read a recap of their conversation here

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

We spoke to Nasa's head of science Dr Nicola Fox after the fly-by.

She said it had been an amazing - and very busy - day for the science team here at mission control.

The astronauts have spent years preparing for this part of the mission, studying lunar science with the team here - and Fox said the crew had aced their test, providing fantastic lunar observations.

As a solar scientist, she was particularly excited about the eclipse.

She's gazed at many of these celestial events, but said this one, with such an unusual vantage point, looked very different from any she'd seen on Earth.

There was much anticipation during the 40 minutes when Orion was not able to contact Earth.

After the Artemis crew returned from the far side of the moon, mission specialist Christina Koch broke the silence.

Here is what Koch said:

"Houston, Integrity, comm check.

It is so great to hear from Earth again...

To Asia, Africa and Oceana, we are looking back at you, we hear you can look up and see the moon right now. We see you too.

When we burned this bird towards the moon, I said that we do not leave Earth, but we choose it and that is true.

We will explore, we will build, we will build ships, we will visit again.

We will construct science outposts. We will drive rovers, we will do radio astronomy, we will found companies, we will bolster industry.

We will inspire but ultimately we will always choose Earth.

We will always choose each other."

After travelling a record-breaking 252,756 miles (406,771km) from Earth and circling past the moon, the Artemis II astronauts are on their way home.

It will take them about four days to journey back, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the US expected at 20:07 eastern US time 10 April (01:07 BST 11 April).

Teams will collect the astronauts from the water in helicopters and take them to the a nearby US Navy ship.

They will have medical checks aboard the ship as they head back towards land, Nasa says.

Image source, NASA

US President Donald Trump had a short conversation with the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft. As a microphone floated in front of the astronauts on their journey back to Earth, Trump praised the crew for their achievements.

• He told the Artemis II crew that they had "made history" by breaking the record for the furthest distance travelled from planet Earth
• Astronaut Victor Glover told the US president that he said "a little prayer" when the spacecraft briefly lost contact with Nasa, while Commander Reid Wiseman said they had seen sights "that no human has ever seen"

• There were also several references to Mars throughout the call; Commander Reid Wiseman told the president that all of the crew had commented "how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two planet species"
• Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen also gave a special thanks to Trump on behalf of Canada; Trump responded by saying he had spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and former Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who had both expressed how proud they were of Hansen and the Artemis II crew
• The president invited the four astronauts to the White House once they return to Earth - he said he rarely asks for autographs, but he wanted to get theirs

Before the call ended, Trump said he will be seeing the Artemis crew at the White House once the mission is complete.

"I've been pretty busy also, as you know, but I will absolutely find the time," Trump said, before adding he would like to give "a big salute on behalf of the American people and beyond that".

"Thank you for that, Mr President," pilot Victor Glover replied.

Trump continues with questions, asking the crew: "What is the most unforgettable part of this really historic day?"

Commander Reid Wiseman was the first to respond, and starts by saying that the call from the president was "certainly very special to all of us".

"We saw sights that no human has ever seen, not even Apollo, and that was amazing for us," said Wiseman.

He went on to explain the crew's observations of the solar eclipse, and said all four of the crew had commented on how "excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species" in reference to goals of future ventures to Mars.

Trump asks the Artemis crew: "What was your feeling when you had no communication all of a sudden?"

Astronaut Victor Glover answers by saying he said "a little prayer" but then had to keep working to record scientific observations of the far side of the moon.

"We were busy up here and working really hard, and I must say it was actually quite nice," Glover adds.

Trump continues and says: "Humans have really never seen anything quite like what you're doing."

"It's really special."

He then congratulates each crew member of the Artemis crew and the entire team at Nasa.

US President Donald Trump is speaking directly to the crew aboard Artemis II in a surprise appearance.

"Today, you've made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud," he tells the four astronauts.

"We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but this is... there's nothing like what you're doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than a half century, and breaking the all time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth."

Image source, NASA

The Nasa science crew has just signed off, thanking the Artemis II crew for their observations.

Mission control says the solar eclipse observation period has closed, and the team aboard the Orion spacecraft will now begin "down-linking" all of the images and data they have captured over the past seven hours of observation.

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover has just told the crew on the ground that what the four astronauts are currently seeing is "truly hard to describe".

"I know this observation won't be of any scientific value but I'm really glad we launched on April 1st, because humans have probably not evolved to see what we are seeing," he tells them.

Commander Reid Wiseman jumped in with his observations:

"It's just indescribable. No matter how long we look at this, our brains are not processing this image in front of us. It is absolutely spectacular, surreal... there's no adjectives, I'm going to need to invent some new ones, there's absolutely no words to describe what we are looking at out this window."

As Glover described something he said was orange, the crew on the ground said the reddish object was likely Mars.

"Good opportunity to look to the future of where we're going," mission control tells the four aboard the Orion spacecraft.

The crew joked they wanted 20 new superlatives added to the mission summary tomorrow, to assist with their descriptions.