🌕 A Lunar Eclipse, A New Space Age, and the Nikon Connection

In September 2025, I stood under the night sky in Kigali and captured a moment that felt both timeless and fleeting, a lunar eclipse slowly unfolding above.

That night reminded me of why I fell in love with photography in the first place.

👉 View the photo here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlyon/54775010752/in/dateposted-public/

There’s something deeply humbling about photographing celestial events. You’re not just taking a picture, you’re witnessing orbital mechanics, light, and time itself playing out in real-time.

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🚀 Watching History: Artemis II

Fast forward to today, and that same sense of wonder has come rushing back as I follow the Artemis II mission led by NASA.

For the first time in over 50 years, humans are traveling beyond low Earth orbit toward the Moon again. Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four astronauts on a journey around the Moon and back to Earth.

This mission isn’t about landing, yet. It’s about proving that we can safely send humans deeper into space again, testing life support systems, navigation, and spacecraft performance in a true deep-space environment.

We’re witnessing the beginning of a new chapter in space exploration, one that will eventually lead to sustained lunar missions and, ultimately, Mars.

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📷 Nikon in Space (Yes, Really)

As a photographer, one detail makes this even more exciting for me:

Nikon cameras are being used in space.

The Artemis II mission includes imaging systems, among them cameras from Nikon, tasked with documenting everything from life aboard the spacecraft to views of Earth and the Moon.

That’s something I genuinely love.

There’s a special connection in knowing that the same brand I use on Earth is also being trusted to document humanity’s return to deep space. It’s a reminder that photography, whether from your backyard or from lunar orbit, is about storytelling.

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🌌 From a Backyard Eclipse to Lunar Orbit

When I look back at my lunar eclipse photo now, it feels different.

At the time, it was a quiet, personal moment, just me, my camera, and the Moon.

But today, that same Moon is being observed up close again by astronauts, cameras, and instruments pushing the boundaries of human exploration.

There’s a powerful connection between these two perspectives:

• A photographer on Earth capturing reflected sunlight during an eclipse

• Astronauts in deep space capturing the Moon directly

Both are part of the same story.

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✨ Why This Moment Matters

We’re living in a time where space exploration is no longer just history; it’s happening again, right now.

The Artemis program represents more than technology. It represents curiosity, collaboration, and the human desire to explore.

And as photographers, we play a small but meaningful role in that story:

We capture the sky, the moments, and the inspiration that connects people to something bigger than themselves.

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📸 Prints & Closing Thoughts

To celebrate this moment and the inspiration behind it, I’m offering 10% off prints of my lunar eclipse photo.

👉 View and purchase the print here:

https://mlyonphotography.darkroom.com/products/1804422

Use code: LUNAR2026

Whether you’re a space enthusiast, a fellow photographer, or someone who simply loves the night sky, I hope this image brings you the same sense of wonder I felt capturing it.

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🌙 Final Thought

From a quiet night in Rwanda to astronauts orbiting the Moon…

We’re all looking up at the same sky.

And right now, that sky is more exciting than ever.