Artemis's stunning Moon pictures - science or holiday photos?

57 minutes agoGeorgina RannardScience reporter'That is something we have never seen before': Artemis II crew describe far side of MoonNasa is releasing a steady stream of stunning pictures of the Moon and Earth taken by the astronauts on its Artemis II Moon mission. Attracting millions of likes on social media, the images show the two bodies from unusual angles in glorious high definition. There is no denying the drama: four astronauts are embarking on a mission that will take them further from Earth than any human has ventured since 1972. But is there unique scientific value in these images, or are these simply the equivalent of holiday photos?NASAAstronaut Christina Koch watching Earth from the Orion spacecraft (image taken with iPhone 17 Pro Max)NASA wants the American public behind them to support the mission. They are live-streaming the 10-day journey, and the four astronauts are doing regular video updates, describing their progress in triumphant tones.The crew have been so excited to watch the world and Moon go by, NASA has said, that the window inside the Orion spacecraft got dirty and the astronauts were sent instructions on how to clean it.This is the first time that digital cameras have been taken this far into space.Orion has 32 cameras and devices - 15 mounted onto the spacecraft and 17 handheld by the crew.According to NASA, the astronauts are using standard 10-year-old cameras, including the Nikon D5, as well as GoPros and smartphones. On Friday we saw the first results of their intense observations."Hello, World" was taken by Commander Reid Wiseman when the mission was about equidistant from the Moon and Earth - 142,000 miles (228,500 km) from Earth, and 132,000 miles from the Moon.It shows two auroras as the Earth eclipses the Sun, and the planet Venus glowing at the bottom of the image.NASA/Reid WisemanOur planet appears upside down, with the Sahara desert and the Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.It's a lovely picture, but nothing new when it comes to science.In fact, NASA has a satellite with its Deep Space Climate Observatory with a camera called Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (Epic). Launched in 2015, it frequently takes pictures of Earth from close to a million miles away - much further than Artemis II.Then on Saturday, NASA released another photo, with the tagline "history in the making". It shows the Orientale basin, a huge crater on the far side of the Moon, which has a thicker crust and many more impact craters.It's been released ahead of the lunar fly-by on Monday when the crew will fly around this mysterious far side, passing within 4,066 miles of the surface.NASAA picture taken on day 4 of Artemis mission showing the Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar diskNasa said its image marked "the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes". Even Apollo astronauts didn't see the Orientale basin completely because of their orbit and illumination conditions.NASA is emphasising the significance of human eyes rather than robotic explorers."Human eyes and brains are highly sensitive to subtle changes in colour, texture, and other surface characteristics," it says.It says this could "uncover new discoveries and a more nuanced appreciation for the features on the surface of the Moon."I asked Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and co-host of BBC's series The Sky at Night for his opinion."The value of the images coming back from Artemis and its crew is artistic, not scientific," he said.He explained that since the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s, robotic explorers have mapped the far side of the Moon.In 2023, India sent the probe Chandrayaan-3 and captured detailed images of the same terrain.ISROA photo of the Moon's far side captured in 2023 by a camera on India's Chandrayaan-3 probe And in 2024, China's Chang'e-6 mission collected the first-ever samples from the far side. It followed China landing the first ever probe in the region, in 2019. "Unless something very unusual happens, there will be nothing for the [Artemis] astronauts to discover," Lintott says."There's a possibility they might see an impact flash if a meteor hits the dark side but it would have to be a pretty big one," he said."For science they would need to do a systematic count [of it], best done with a video camera, not looking out the window," he explained."The [images] we already have back are beautiful, stunning and iconic - taking by astronauts not by robots. This is a voyage of exploration, not lunar science and that's fine!" he said.When releasing these images, NASA is pushing the scientific importance of this mission, but as journalists, we are asked to look at all the facts around a story.America is locked in a space race with other nations - notably China, with both nations vying to be the first to return humans to the Moon. A successful Artemis II mission would signal that the US has taken a decisive lead, for nowAnd this is a huge moment for NASA to shine in the eyes of President Donald Trump, who has gutted the funding of many scientific institutions.The agency is also under pressure to prove its worth at a time when private operators such as SpaceX are raising the bar.Science is driven by inquiry and evidence, but it is never immune to politics.Getty ImagesThe iconic Earthrise photo taken in 1968In 1968 astronaut Bill Anders made history when he took the now-famous picture Earthrise. Taken from close to the lunar surface, it showed our planet rising in the distance. It made Earth look vulnerable, and at a time of global division and tension during the Cold War, it reminded many viewers that we share this one planet.It also demonstrated how a powerful image can write history, and NASA will be hoping that Artemis II delivers a moment of comparable resonance.In the meantime, let's enjoy the astronauts' ride and their beautiful pictures.