After a flawless 10-day voyage that took humanity farther from Earth than any crewed mission in over 50 years, NASA’s Artemis II has safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen are back on Earth, and they brought back something extraordinary: breathtaking images captured with Nikon cameras that will define this historic flight for generations.
As we’ve reported here at Nikon Rumors, the Artemis II crew relied on Nikon D5 DSLR cameras as their primary handheld cameras, plus a Nikon Z9 that was added at the last minute for deep-space radiation testing ahead of future missions. No fancy new mirrorless flagship, no commercial sponsorship deal – just proven Nikon gear that NASA has trusted for decades in the harshest environment imaginable. The results? Absolutely stunning.
Why the “old” Nikon D5 was the perfect space camera
NASA didn’t pick the Nikon D5 because it was cheap or trendy – they picked it because it’s battle-tested, radiation-hardened, and delivers class-leading high-ISO performance that modern mirrorless cameras still can’t match in the extreme conditions of deep space. With lenses including the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, and the 80-400mm for lunar detail, the D5 handled everything from cabin portraits to long-exposure night-sky shots and razor-sharp Moon close-ups.
The Nikon Z9 made the trip too, primarily so NASA could gather real-world data on how its stacked sensor and electronics hold up to cosmic radiation – data that will shape the camera inventory for the next Artemis III and beyond.
Nikon in space: no contract, all glory
As multiple outlets have noted, Nikon didn’t have a paid commercial partnership with NASA for this mission – they simply had the right gear that had already been flight-qualified years ago. Christina Koch and the rest of the crew have shared how the cameras performed flawlessly, with the D5’s high-ISO prowess and rugged build proving once again why it remains NASA’s go-to for critical imagery. Many readers were shocked by Nikon’s lack of coverage of this historic event.
Iconic images captured with Nikon gear
Here are some of the best and most iconic photographs from NASA’s Artemis II mission that were captured using Nikon cameras from the official NASA website (images.nasa.gov) and the NASA Johnson Flickr account (nasa2explore):
Here are some of the most popular YouTube videos on the Nikon gear on board of NASA’s Artemis II historic mission:
Christina Koch on Artemis 2 underestimates the Battery Ejection Spring
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