April 5, 2026
Pink Floyd vs. “just the Moon”
Artemis II crew see first glimpse of far side of Moon
Internet torn between “just the Moon” shrugs and goosebumps over a human-first view
TLDR: Artemis II astronauts saw the Moon’s far side and shared a first-of-its-kind human view of the Orientale basin. Commenters split between awe and “meh,” corrected the “dark side” myth, cracked Pink Floyd jokes, and shared NASA’s live tracker—turning a milestone into a meme-filled teachable moment.
NASA’s Artemis II crew just swung around the far side of the Moon and snapped a historic pic of the Orientale basin — the first time the whole thing has been seen by human eyes — and the internet is… feeling feelings. Some viewers were dazzled; others squinted and went, “Looks like… the Moon.”
One camp is in full goosebumps mode, cheering that four humans — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — are more than 180,000 miles from home, literally looking out a window at the side we never see from Earth. Another camp is shrugging, with one commenter admitting they wouldn’t know it’s the far side without a caption. The correction squad arrived fast: “Far side ≠ Dark side,” lectured one user after Pink Floyd jokes flooded in. Speaking of, a chorus demanded a soundtrack: “Where’s the Pink Floyd commentary?” one boomer-friendly fan pleaded, adding that Wallace & Gromit would also do.
Meanwhile, the practical crowd is tracking every mile with NASA’s live map and telling everyone to refresh the mission tracker. The biggest vibe? A spicy clash between “historic human moment” awe and “meh, we’ve seen photos” energy — plus a side of classic rock memes and a teachable moment about space lighting.
Key Points
- •Artemis II crew saw the far side of the Moon for the first time during their mission.
- •The crew includes NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA’s Jeremy Hansen.
- •They shared a photo of the Moon’s Orientale basin, which NASA says is the first time the entire basin has been seen by human eyes.
- •The mission uses the Orion spacecraft to travel around the Moon’s far side and return to Earth.
- •As of 23:00 BST on Saturday, the spacecraft was more than 180,000 miles (289,681 km) from Earth, according to NASA’s dashboard.