The Artemis II astronauts just delivered history’s most breathtaking selfie—a view of Earth from 250,000 miles away, snapped on an iPhone 17 Pro Max from inside the Orion capsule. Those images lit up social media this week, but what most Americans don’t realize is that NASA quietly operates one of the internet’s largest free photo archives, and the agency’s recent moon mission has added a trove of fresh, high-resolution content. With the Fourth of July weekend fresh in our minds, there’s never been a better time to explore what taxpayers already own.
Because NASA is a government-funded agency, the vast majority of its published media—spanning stars, planets, moons, and deep-space galaxies—falls into the public domain. That means every image, video, and audio clip is free to download, share, and even republish without licensing fees. The catch? Finding that content isn’t always intuitive. The primary portal, the NASA Image and Video Library, houses everything from astronaut training footage to satellite imagery of Martian dust storms. But without a roadmap, users often drown in pages of results.
The most direct route is the NASA Image and Video Library, which sorts uploads by newest first. For trending content, click “Trending & Popular” to surface the most-viewed clips from the Artemis II mission and earlier Apollo-era archives. Each entry includes detailed captions—some mini-essays in their own right—and many images carry EXIF data, revealing camera settings and even whether a shot was taken with an iPhone 17 Pro Max. To avoid sifting through endless search results, use specific keywords: instead of “moon,” try “Artemis II Orion window Earth” to zero in on that viral shot.
For deeper dives, NASA Images offers a separate portal with curated collections, including high-definition video of rocket launches and planet surface flyovers. A word of caution: these archives are dangerously addictive. Whether you’re a photographer hunting for EXIF metadata, a teacher looking for classroom visuals, or just someone who wants to marvel at the universe from your sofa, NASA’s library is a national treasure waiting to be unlocked. The Artemis II photos are just the latest chapter—start browsing today, and you might find yourself lost in space for hours.