For the first time ever, humans have laid eyes on a secret part of the Moon.
The astronauts aboard Artemis II have captured a stunning view of hidden mountain ranges around a place called the Orientale Basin. These towering peaks form perfect rings, one inside the other.
Scientists believe they were created billions of years ago when a giant object smashed into the Moon and changed its surface forever.
The Orientale Basin sits along the Moon’s far western edge. From Earth, we could never see it fully. Only small pieces of its beauty were visible. But from the Orion spacecraft, everything changed.
The crew recorded this breathtaking moment while flying high above the basin. In the distance, beyond the Moon’s horizon, Earth glowed like a soft blue jewel. From that unique angle, the rings of mountains stretched across the surface as far as the eye could see.
