The Rings of the Orientale Basin, Artemis II

One of the youngest and best-preserved impact structures on the Moon, seen from orbit. April 6, 2026. During the first observation shift of the lunar flyby, the Artemis II crew captured this close-up of Orientale basin. At roughly 600 miles across, Orientale is one of the Moon's youngest large impact craters and by far the best-preserved. Its concentric ring structure is still intact, billions of years after formation, because it sits right at the edge of the far side where later lava flows never buried it. Most people have never seen Orientale clearly. From Earth, it's barely visible at the Moon's extreme western limb. From orbit, at this angle and in this light, the ring system reveals itself fully: mountain ridges, terraced walls, and the central floor, all shaped by a single catastrophic impact. This image retains its original framing as captured aboard Orion. The visible grain is inherent to deep space photography conditions. We keep it as is. It's part of what makes this real. Photo: NASA / Artemis II, Lunar Flyby