NASA has made all the scientific data generated by the Artemis 2 mission accessible to the public and the scientific community. This mission transported four astronauts on a journey around the Moon and subsequent return to Earth.
The provided material covers more than 800 GB of information, containing records that had not been previously disclosed. This data has been integrated into the Planetary Data System, which is NASA's public repository dedicated to archiving planetary exploration information.
Among the released content, over 11 thousand images and videos of the Moon stand out, captured both by the portable cameras used by the crew and by instruments installed on the Orion spacecraft. The data package also includes 8.5 hours of audio recordings of the astronauts while conducting scientific observations on the lunar surface, in addition to photos annotated by the team itself.
The combination of these photographs, audio recordings, and annotations allows for the preservation not only of what the astronauts witnessed but also of the strategic choices made during the passage around the Moon. NASA emphasizes that this represents the first set of planetary science data captured predominantly by humans in over fifty years.
According to the agency, the documents provide an overview of the mission's data and activities, along with a technical summary detailing how the scientific plan was conceived and implemented. This information is already being used in the planning of future missions, such as Artemis 3.