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Recent work to the moon Artemis II astronauts were memorable, inspiring, and scientifically important to many reasons. It also brought us a new database of photos and videos ready to be added to NASA’s extensive library.
Think about it this picture of the Earth from a distance of more than 250,000 kilometers, for example, taken from the other side of the moon. Or images that are widely shared Our planet from inside the Orion capsule, which was taken using the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Truly out of this world, but captured using a device most of us have in our pockets.
These images have surfaced on social media, but what you may not know is that NASA creates its own huge library of images and videos for everyone to explore, marvel at, and share again. Because NASA is funded by the US government, many of its publications are released into the public domain.
That is the good news. The bad news is that it is not clear where this library is and how to access it.
If you’re ready to explore decades of incredible photos and videos from NASA — from giant star clusters to spaceships — here’s how to get started. Warning though: It’s easy to get lost for hours in this collection.
NASA Image and Video Library
Let’s start with the biggest source: The NASA Image and Video Library. This is where you’ll find nearly every photo, video, and audio NASA wants to share, from astronaut photos and space missions to planetary shots and satellite images. By default, you start seeing new downloads, but you can also click them Favorites & Popularity to see what has been seen frequently over the years.
Click on a photo or video to learn more about it, including what it shows and when it was taken. Some of the captions here are trivial, and most of the content on the site comes with EXIF data
Although this tool is amazing, it is also difficult to analyze, unless you know what you are looking for. You rely on the search box at the top, and that keyword can return many pages of results. Try to be as specific as possible with your keywords. Also, use keywords for each image and video to find similar content.
NASA images
In addition to the NASA Image and Video Library website, there is also NASA images—which includes a link to the Image and Video Library. (Those of you who are behind try to keep going). NASA’s images aren’t as comprehensive as the Photos and Videos Library, but they’re well organized, and it’s easy to find the latest content here.
