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The Artemis II astronauts made many mind-blowing images during their historic lunar mission earlier this month. Those images included never-before-seen views of the moon, a total solar eclipse and more.
They have two NASA instructors to thank for equipping them with tried-and-true DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras and with sharing their photo and video skills.
NASA photography and video subject matter experts Paul Reichert and Katrina Willoughby said they put the crew through about 20 hours of training over the course of a few years.
Nikon D5’s space advantages
The Nikon D5, a DSLR camera released in 2016, was the so-called workhorse used by the crew that included Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. As a mainstay camera model used for years on the International Space Station (ISS), Reichert said the D5 has proven it can withstand interstellar elements.
“We had a lot of flight experience with it,” Reichert said. “We knew it could handle at least several years of radiation dosage on the ISS, and it didn’t have any problems with it.”
Another advantage of the D5 is its exceptional performance in low light — a necessity amid the inky blackness of space.
One piece of camera equipment used by the astronauts is familiar to many of us: an iPhone. Willoughby said Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max devices were late additions to the equipment list. While the handheld, point-and-shoot nature of the phones were useful, their large file sizes posed a challenge.
“One thing we do have to think about onboard is what does it take to get files down?” Willoughby said. “And unfortunately, we don’t have bandwidth. And that’s something a lot of people down here are really used to instantly having.”
Unlike lunar missions from more than 50 years ago, the Artemis II astronauts benefitted from immediately seeing the photos they took digitally, unlike film cameras used by crews in the past. GoPros livestreaming video gave people on Earth a live look at space exploration.
Willoughby said the excitement on the ground in Houston was palpable.
“The excitement in the back rooms and the front rooms as the images were being seen and being put out was pretty good. We were all very excited,” Willoughby said.
Besides the D5, the crew also utilized a Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera and several lenses, including 14-24mm, 80-400mm and 35mm lenses.
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