How the Artemis II crew trained to observe and photograph the moon: A NASA science team geologist explains

Dr. Gordon 'Oz' Osinski

April 8, 2026

As NASA’s Artemis II mission prepares to return to Earth, a NASA geologist explains how the crew prepared for this voyage, from taking a ‘crash course’ in lunar geology to collaborating with Mushuau Innu First Nation before training on Kamestastin Lake crater in a remote part of northern Labrador, Canada.

The Artemis II crew has now broken the record—previously held by Apollo 13—for the farthest distance any humans have ever traveled from Earth. The crew also completed a flyby of the moon’s far side and sent back some amazing images of the lunar surface.

I am a professor, an explorer and a planetary geologist, specializing in the study of meteorite impact structures. I am also a member of the First Artemis Lunar Surface Science Team and have been supporting NASA in developing the geology training for Artemis astronauts.

The flyby was particularly exciting as it offered a stunning new perspective of the lunar surface. It also provided the first operational test of a new science team and evaluation room at Mission Control in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. And it was fantastic to see the Artemis II crew conduct observations and take photographs of geological landforms on the moon’s surface—putting their training with me at the Kamestastin Lake impact structure, on the territory of the Mushuau Innu First Nation in northern Labrador, into practice.

Artemis II Launches Astronauts to the Moon (Official NASA Recap)

A new view of the moon

Unlike the Apollo missions, that orbited at approximately 68 miles (110 kilometers) above the surface of the moon, Artemis II was at a much higher altitude—around 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) above the lunar surface. This greater distance allowed the crew to view the moon as a full disk, including regions near both the North Pole and South Pole.

The crew was also able to take targeted photographs of various geological landforms on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis II science program. One of the primary goals of these investigations is to inform future missions, including the planned first journey back to the lunar surface with Artemis IV as soon as 2028.

A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The right portion of the image shows the transition from smooth material within an inner ring of mountains to more rugged terrain around the rim. The image was captured with a handheld camera at a focal length of 16 inches (400 millimeters), around the far side of the moon.

Kamestastin Lake and the surrounding region are on the territory of the Mushuau Innu First Nation. A key part of my role in the training was liaising with the First Nation, which has been following Hansen on this historic mission.

A new science team

One of the highlights of NASA’s livestream during the mission has been the direct conversations between two good friends: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and science officer Kelsey Young. Science officers are the senior flight controllers responsible for lunar science and geology objectives during Artemis missions.

They act as the main interface between the wider Mission Control team and the Artemis II science team, which is located in a totally separate room called the Science Evaluation Room (SER).

Both science officers and the evaluation room are brand new for NASA’s Artemis program; they did not exist during the Apollo program. We have been developing the structure and defining roles in the SER for the first Artemis mission to the moon’s surface. But there is nothing like a real mission to test and refine how the science team should work.

Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft. — Top: Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—take a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft; Bottom: Expedition 74 flight engineers (from left) Chris Williams of NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Jessica Meir of NASA pose aboard the International Space Station. Meir is wearing a portable breathing apparatus to test its readiness for unlikely emergency scenarios such as an oxygen leak, chemical leak, or fire aboard the orbital outpost. Top: NASA; Bottom: ESA/Sophie Adenot

Expedition 74 flight engineers (from left) Chris Williams of NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Jessica Meir of NASA pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station — Top: Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—take a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft; Bottom: Expedition 74 flight engineers (from left) Chris Williams of NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Jessica Meir of NASA pose aboard the International Space Station. Meir is wearing a portable breathing apparatus to test its readiness for unlikely emergency scenarios such as an oxygen leak, chemical leak, or fire aboard the orbital outpost. Top: NASA; Bottom: ESA/Sophie Adenot

A crash course in lunar geology

If you listened in to NASA’s livestream and heard any of the geological descriptions the astronauts were giving, I hope you were impressed — I certainly was. Their knowledge is a testament to the geology training that NASA has provided the crew in the months and years since they were selected for the Artemis program.

First, the crew participated in a crash course in lunar geology called ‘Lunar Fundamentals.’ This weeklong, classroom-based training offered them the basics to understand lunar geology and the processes that shape the moon’s surface—primarily impact cratering and volcanism.

However, as somebody who has been teaching for more than 20 years, I know the best place to learn about geology is in the field. That’s why NASA also took the Artemis astronauts to a series of field sites in the United States, Iceland and Canada. Early in their training, in September 2023, three of the crew members—Hansen, Christina Koch and back-up crew Jenni Gibbons—undertook geology training at the Kamestastin Lake impact structure in northern Labrador. Then the entire crew traveled to Iceland in August 2024.

Kamestastin Lake training expedition

I was honored to play a leading role in the Kamestastin Lake training. This location was chosen because it offers a similar landscape to the surface of the moon.

The Kamestastin Lake crater was formed approximately 35 million years ago by the impact of an asteroid between 0.6 and 1.2 miles (one and two kilometers) in diameter. Not only are rocks like breccias and impact melt rocks produced by the asteroid’s impact well preserved here, but the crater also formed in a rock called anorthosite—the exact same rock that makes up the lunar highlands.

In addition to participating in the geology training itself, I was largely responsible for the logistics for this expedition. Kamestastin is in a remote part of northern Labrador, so we flew in via Twin Otter aircraft and established a temporary base camp. From tents to pots and pans and food for 16 people, there was a lot to take care of. We then used zodiac boats to travel around the crater.

The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. In this image, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater shows terraced edges and a relatively flat floor marked by central peaks — formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater. — Top: This image was captured at 6:41pm EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. Here, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground is Ohm crater; Bottom: A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The image was captured with a handheld camera as the crew flew around the far side of the Moon. Photos: NASA

Top: This image was captured at 6:41pm EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. Here, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground is Ohm crater; Bottom: A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The image was captured with a handheld camera as the crew flew around the far side of the Moon. Photos: NASA

Sacred Innu stories of the moon

Kamestastin Lake and the surrounding region are on the territory of the Mushuau Innu First Nation. A key part of my role in the training was liaising with the First Nation, which has been following Hansen on this historic mission.

A highlight for me was sitting around the fire on one of our last nights with Innu Guardians from Natuashish and hearing about how sacred the moon is to them—as it is to many Indigenous Peoples around the world. They also told us the story of Tshakepesh, an Innu hero who teaches that with courage, hard work and perseverance, one can always overcome difficulties.

As the Artemis II crew return from its journey, I am struck by the parallels. The crew has shown the world what can happen if we work together towards a common goal with courage, hard work, perseverance and humility.

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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Disclosure statement: Gordon Osinski founded the company Interplanetary Exploration Odyssey Inc. He receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency.

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Dr. Gordon 'Oz' Osinski

Dr. Gordon 'Oz' Osinski is a Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Western University, Canada and passionate about outreach and science communication. A member of the Artemis III Science Team and the Principal Investigator for Canada’s first ever rover mission to the Moon, Dr. Osinski is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.