July 5, 2026 – Just days after the historic Artemis II mission captivated the world, NASA has quietly released a flood of new imagery from the lunar flyby—including breathtaking shots of Earth from 250,000 miles away, captured from the far side of the moon. But what many Americans don’t realize is that these images, along with decades of space exploration footage, are free for anyone to download, share, and even republish.
The Artemis II crew used iPhone 17 Pro Max units inside the Orion capsule to snap stunning selfies of our planet, and those photos have already gone viral across social media. Yet the real treasure lies deeper. NASA maintains a vast, publicly funded digital library containing everything from astronaut training videos to high-resolution shots of distant galaxies. Because the agency is a U.S. government entity, nearly all of its published media falls into the public domain—meaning no copyright restrictions, no licensing fees, and no permission needed for reuse.
However, accessing this trove isn’t always straightforward. The primary portal, the NASA Image and Video Library, offers a searchable database of over 140,000 items, but the interface can overwhelm casual users. “It’s easy to get lost for hours,” says one longtime space enthusiast. The default view shows the newest uploads first, including the Artemis II haul, but users can also filter by “Trending & Popular” to see the most-viewed content from past missions. Each entry includes detailed captions and, for photographers, embedded EXIF data that reveals camera settings and equipment—including which shots were taken with commercially available smartphones.
For those seeking a more curated experience, NASA Images—a separate site run in partnership with the Internet Archive—offers themed galleries and historical collections, such as Apollo-era photos and Hubble Space Telescope highlights. Experts recommend using highly specific search terms rather than broad keywords like “moon” or “Mars,” which return hundreds of pages of results. The Artemis II images, for example, are best found by searching “Orion capsule Earth” or “Artemis II lunar far side.”
With the Artemis program ramping up and a new generation of space fans eager to explore, NASA’s public image library stands as one of the government’s most underappreciated resources. Whether you’re a teacher, a journalist, or simply someone who marvels at the cosmos, these images are yours to explore—no astronaut training required.