
NASA has shared the first breathtaking views of Earth taken from the Artemis II mission as the crew continues its journey toward the moon.
The photos reveal Earth behind the Orion spacecraft, our home planet aglow with aurora.
One photo of Earth, taken Thursday by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from the Orion window, shows the planet backlit, with auroras visible at the top right and bottom left, Lakiesha Hawkins, deputy director for NASA’s Artemis program, said Friday during a news conference.
A zodiacal light is also visible at the bottom right as the Earth eclipses the sun, she said.
Another photo of Earth, also taken by Wiseman, shows a terminator line, meaning the line separating daylight and nighttime on the planet.
“What an amazing shot that he shared with us here,” she said.
The photos were taken after completing the translunar injection burn Thursday.
Hawkins said Friday, the third day of the Artemis II mission, that so far systems are normal and “the crew is in great spirit.”
The four crew members — NASA astronauts Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — launched Wednesday on the 10-day mission.
As of Friday, the crew is more than 100,000 miles from Earth, with about 150,000 miles to go to the moon.
The mission does not include a lunar landing, but is designed as a step toward a landing in 2028.
The next major milestone for the space pioneers will be Monday, when the crew is expected to fly around the moon.
That flyby could mark the farthest venture from Earth made by humans, surpassing the distance record of 248,655 miles set by the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Former GLP-1 users regain lost weight after about 18 months, study says - 2
The 25 Most Notable Style Crossroads in History - 3
Nikki Glaser returns as host of the 2026 Golden Globes: Everything the comedian has said about the upcoming awards show - 4
Computerized Moderation: Tracking down Equilibrium in the Advanced Age - 5
Internet goes (cocoa) nuts: The funniest reactions to 12 tonne theft of KitKat bars
Tributes pour in for MIT professor Nuno Loureiro amid unresolved shooting case
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in Palisades Fire, is running for mayor of Los Angeles
Zelensky warns of imminent massive Russian attack on Ukraine
NASA says Maven spacecraft that was orbiting Mars has gone silent
6 Nations for Setting up camp
Advocacy groups react after Mattel introduces 1st Barbie doll with autism
December’s full moon is the last supermoon of the year. Here’s what to know
Ukraine: Russians abduct 50 Ukrainians from border village in Sumy
Computerized Domains d: A Survey of \Vivid Undertakings\ Computer generated Reality Game












