NASA's Artemis 2 commander and astrophotographer team up to capture breathtaking, never-before-seen shots of the moon's far side

Just weeks before the first Artemis 2 launch window, astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy had a last-minute idea: What if he could get the Artemis 2 astronauts to shoot the moon the same way he shoots the moon? So McCarthy slid into the DMs (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. And the long shot came through. "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." NASA's Artemis 2 mission launched on April 1 , flying four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the far side of the moon that captivated people across the world. The astronauts snapped breathtaking photos of the moon, which showed beautifully haunting views of the lunar far side that Artemis 2 crew member Christina Koch of NASA described as "the most ominous thing I've ever loved." On Earth , McCarthy combines hundreds to thousands of photos of the moon to bring out details you can't see in a single image. The results are colorful landscapes that look more like paintings than the gray orb we're used to seeing hang in the night sky , but the diversity he presents in his images come down to lunar spectroscopy rather than artistic interpretation. …