The Incredible Photos and Videos From NASA’s Artemis II Rocket Launch

Matt Growcoot
A large rocket launches into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke and fire. The launchpad is surrounded by cameras and equipment, with blue sky and light clouds in the background.
Multiple cameras and science instruments were set up close to the launch, where humans weren’t allowed to be. | NASA/Aubrey Gemignan

Artemis II blasted off yesterday on a historic mission that sees humans return to the Moon’s vicinity for the first time in over 50 years.

The enormous Space Launch System rocket that got the four astronauts off the ground is a whopping 322-foot-tall. Naturally, there were cameras galore to capture the event, including many NASA photographers.

A distant view of a rocket standing upright on a launch pad near the coastline, with a cloudy sky above, water in the foreground, and the ocean in the background.
The SLS rocket shortly before blastoff. | NASA/Joel Kowsky
A large rocket on a launch pad is surrounded by four tall support towers. White smoke billows from its base, with a blue sky and some greenery in the foreground.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A rocket launches into the sky, trailing bright flames and smoke, silhouetted against the sun. Reflections and tall grasses are visible in the water in the foreground, with towers and clouds in the background.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
A rocket launches into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke and fire, with birds flying overhead and the sun shining brightly over a reflective body of water in the foreground.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A rocket launches into a clear blue sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke and flames. Birds fly nearby, and the scene is reflected in the calm water below, with vegetation framing the view.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
A rocket lifts off from a launch pad, emitting bright flames and thick smoke, surrounded by support towers against a clear sky.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A rocket launches into the sky, emitting bright flames and smoke, while surrounded by support structures and cameras on tripods capturing the event. The sky is clear and blue.
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
A group of people watch and take photos as a rocket launches into the sky near a NASA building with an American flag and NASA logo, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A large crowd of people stand and sit closely together, looking up and smiling, with many holding up phones and cameras to capture something in the sky during the daytime.
NASA/Keegan Barber
A rocket launches near the coast, leaving a bright, curved trail through a blue sky with streaks of clouds drifting upwards and outward from the launch site. Water and land are visible in the foreground.
NASA/Keegan Barber
A large, tracked NASA crawler-transporter labeled "CT-2" sits on grass, while a rocket launches in the background, leaving a trail of smoke against a clear blue sky.
The Crawler Transporter 2 can be seen in the foreground as the SLS carries the Orion spacecraft to the Moon. | NASA/Bill Ingalls
A large crowd gathers on bleachers by a waterfront, watching and photographing a rocket launch as a trail of smoke rises into the sky in the distance. The scene is lively under a clear, sunny sky with scattered clouds.
NASA/Keegan Barber
A rocket launches into the sky at sunrise, surrounded by large towers and billowing smoke, with birds flying and its reflection visible in a calm body of water in the foreground.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
A rocket launches into a clear blue sky, emitting bright flames and smoke from its engines as it ascends vertically.
NASA/Bill Ingalls

Some lucky passengers on commercial flights were perfectly positioned to capture the rocket launch, while one mathematician attending the launch managed to capture Artemis II in the reflection of her glasses.

Another family was able to witness the launch on both their TV and from their backyard.

Meanwhile, plenty of photographers were in attendance to capture Artemis II, including PetaPixel regular Andrew McCarthy.

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission in the Artemis program, and will see humans travel further from Earth than anyone before them — roughly 4,600 miles beyond the dark side of the Moon.

Onboard are astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. In February, PetaPixel revealed that the crew will be using 10-year-old DSLR cameras, rather than modern mirrorless. The full-frame, 20.8-megapixel Nikon D5 was released back in 2016. Mirrorless cameras are expected to fly in future Artemis missions.

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