Artemis 2 Commander, Astrophotographer Team Up for First-Ever True-Color Photos of the Moon's Far Side
Summary: Just weeks after the Artemis 2 astronauts completed their lunar flyby, NASA astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy joined forces with Artemis 2 commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman to process raw images captured during the mission. Using stacking techniques, they produced the first high-fidelity true-color photographs of the Moon's far side — breaking from the tradition of false-color lunar imagery that has dominated for decades.
An Astrophotographer's Last-Minute Idea
With the Artemis 2 launch window just weeks away, astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy had a sudden idea: What if he could get the Artemis 2 astronauts to photograph the Moon using his techniques?
McCarthy slid into the direct messages of Artemis 2 commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman. He knew getting a response at such a late date was a long shot — but he couldn't pass up the chance for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration. The long shot paid off.
"He was immediately onboard," McCarthy told Space.com in an interview. "It was a dream come true, obviously, for me, but I saw it as this very unique opportunity."
Stacking Photography: Giving the Moon "Superhuman Vision"
Those familiar with McCarthy's work know his signature technique is stacking — combining hundreds or even thousands of lunar photographs to extract faint color details invisible to the naked eye. The result: lunar images no longer a uniform gray, but alive with rich browns, blues, and reds — like colorful oil paintings, yet every detail represents real data.
"I don't want to show you what your eyes can see — I want to give you what superhuman vision would see," McCarthy explained. "The camera is our 'cyborg eye,' capturing the real mineral color differences on the lunar surface."
These colors come from spectroscopic differences in how various minerals on the Moon's surface reflect light. Even with a standard DSLR, if you desaturate a lunar photo completely and then restore saturation, the color differences become visible — they exist, just too faint for direct human perception.
The Far Side: An Unprecedented Challenge
Capturing high-fidelity true-color photos of the Moon's far side had never been done before. From Earth, the far side is forever hidden — and even NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), while having color data, lacks the resolution for stunning saturation processing.
McCarthy coordinated with Wiseman and NASA's photography team well in advance, establishing a detailed plan for the commander to capture multiple exposure sets at different positions and lighting conditions during the lunar flyby.
Artemis 2 launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for a 10-day lunar round-trip. The spacecraft skimmed as close as 6,513 km from the Moon's far side, and the crew captured thousands of stunning lunar photographs. NASA astronaut Christina Koch described the far side as "the most eerie yet beloved thing I have ever seen" — a desolate and mysterious beauty that moved countless people worldwide.
"The Cleanest Data I've Ever Worked With"
Stacking once again proved essential — but this time at a whole new level of difficulty. The raw data transmitted from the far side was "astonishingly clean," with virtually no interference from Earth's atmosphere. On Earth, McCarthy typically needs to stack hundreds or even thousands of photos — but with Wiseman's space-based captures, he often needed just 10 to 15 images to achieve exceptional quality.
"This is the best data I've ever worked with — clean, clear, full of details never seen before," McCarthy said.
After Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, NASA released more than 12,000 photographs captured by the crew. McCarthy says he's just beginning to mine this treasure trove, with more close-up processing — particularly of lunar highlands — to be released in the coming weeks.