NASA used a 12-year-old Go Pro to capture a sight called the ‘greatest gift’ by Artemis II pilot — and it used one extreme setting to get the shot | Tech Radar

Overview

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest smartphones

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

Details

Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.

NASA used a 12-year-old Go Pro to capture a sight called the ‘greatest gift’ by Artemis II pilot — and it used one extreme setting to get the shot

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Solar eclipse image from Artemis II shot with 12-year-old action cam

The 'greatest gift' moment recorded with a Go Pro Hero 4 Black

The mission's gear choices continue to surprise camera fans

The Artemis II crew continue to send stunning images back to earth of key moments during its moon fly-by — not least of which include a solar eclipse from the far side of the moon.

Like other iconic images from the mission, the sight, never before seen by humans and described by crew member Victor Glover as 'the greatest gift' of the mission, was captured with the most surprising camera gear of all, at least to camera fans and so far as image quality goes.

Following the Lumix GH5 for take-off shots, the decade-old Nikon D5 DSLR for the incredible Earthset image and earth selfies with i Phone 17s, the solar eclipse was captured with an even older action camera, the Go Pro Hero 4 Black.

NASA's stunning new 'Earthset' photo was shot on an ancient Nikon DSLR — here's why

The first i Phone 17 Pro Max photos sent from the Artemis II mission

I compared Artemis II mission's historic dark side of the moon photo with my Sony Alpha A6000

A solar eclipse from the far side of the moon, from the Orion spacecraft, shot with a Go Pro Hero 4 Black. (Image credit: NASA)

A full 12-years-old, the Hero 4 Black was launched in 2014 and has long been discontinued, being replaced several times over, with the latest model being the Hero 13 Black.

It's one of a string of surprising gear choices, at least to camera fans who might have expected the multi-billion dollar mission to be equipped with the latest and greatest camera gear. So what do we know about the solar eclipse images and the gear used to record the epic sight?

The Artemis II crew had the rare chance to see a solar eclipse from space. 🚀🌘☀️This video stitches together views from Orion's solar array wing cameras throughout the eclipse, showing the Sun as it disappears behind the Moon, revealing a glowing halo around the lunar disk. pic.twitter.com/d 3Z64h Vbef April 9, 2026

The Artemis II crew had the rare chance to see a solar eclipse from space. 🚀🌘☀️This video stitches together views from Orion's solar array wing cameras throughout the eclipse, showing the Sun as it disappears behind the Moon, revealing a glowing halo around the lunar disk. pic.twitter.com/d 3Z64h Vbef April 9, 2026

NASA describes the image named 'Eclipsed: A View from Orion', dated April 6, 2026, as the moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, with the Orion visible in the foreground on the left. It also reveals the bright spot visible just below the moon’s bottom right edge to be Saturn, and the bright spot at the right edge of the image as Mars.

EXIF data on the NASA site reveals the camera gear and settings used to record the solar eclipse image. The Hero 4 Black was set to manual white balance, auto exposure, ISO 800, and a 5-second exposure time.

The Hero 4 Black was the first in the series of action cams with Pro Tune manual control, which has enabled a slow shutter speed, along with Bluetooth and Wi Fi support, though, of course, later models pack these features and more.

A post shared by Go Pro (@gopro)A photo posted by on

And it's not the only stunning image from the mission captured with the Hero 4 Black. Unsurprisingly, Go Pro has shared other key images on its Instagram (see above), pinpointing four moments.

We reached out to Go Pro for comment about why the Artemis II mission opted for the 12-year-old action camera, and it said;

Artemis II astronaut snaps stunning Moon photo with an i Phone 17 Pro Max

Artemis II will use laser beam tech to send '4K video from the Moon'

I turned the Artemis II mission's most stunning Earth photo into an i Phone wallpaper

"Unfortunately, we are not in the position to go any deeper on these questions than what is publicly available — NASA has very strict guidelines on their brand, and we can’t speak on their behalf."

I'm sure the camera gear choices will be one of many questions posed to the crew upon its safe return to earth, and I, for one, will be keen to hear what they have to say.

For now, I'm marvelling at the incredible images shared so far, in the knowledge that there are plenty more images and moments yet to come.

➡️ Read our full best action camera guide

1. Best overall Go Pro Hero 13 Black
2. Best budget Akaso Brave 8 Lite
3. Best 8K Insta 360 Ace Pro 2
4. Best underwater DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro

Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow Tech Radar on Tik Tok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on Whats App too.

Tim is the Cameras editor at Tech Radar. He has enjoyed more than 15 years in the photo video industry with most of those in the world of tech journalism. During his time as Deputy Technical Editor with Amateur Photographer, as a freelancer and consequently editor at Tech Radar, Tim has developed a deeply technical knowledge and practical experience with cameras, educating others through news, reviews and features. He’s also worked in video production for Studio 44 with clients including Canon, and volunteers his spare time to consult a non-profit, diverse stories team based in Nairobi. Tim is curious, a keen creative, avid footballer and runner, and moderate flat white drinker who has lived in Kenya and believes we have much to enjoy and learn from each other.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

1 The Artemis II used a 12-year-old Go Pro to capture ‘greatest gift’ sight

2i Phone owners urged to change this key privacy setting after FBI recovers suspect’s deleted Signal messages

3 Microsoft is actually cutting cloud PC prices for SMBs

4 Euphoria season 3 full release schedule: what is the launch date and time for episode 1 on HBO Max?

5 Windows 11's AI removal campaign begins, but Notepad change isn't popular

Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest smartphones
• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards

• NASA used a 12-year-old Go Pro to capture a sight called the ‘greatest gift’ by Artemis II pilot — and it used one extreme setting to get the shot