
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
When is MLK Day? Plus, the dates of when other federal holidays land in 2026. - 2
Shakira's 2026 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran' U.S. Tour: How to get tickets, prices, dates and more - 3
Born under fire: MDA delivers baby in Jerusalem minutes before rushing to shelter - 4
Figure out How to Use Your Nursing Abilities for Better Compensation - 5
Machado ‘presented’ her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump
A Gastronomic Experience in Healthy Enjoyments: A Survey of \Nutritious and Tasty\ Solid Cooking Recipe Book
Germany sees third consecutive diesel price record after rule change
Pick Your Favored kind of soup
‘Dying of thirst’: Inside Gaza’s al-Mawasi water crisis
Mechanical Sidekick d: A Survey of \Elements and Execution d\ Cell phone
Climate change is straining Alaska's Arctic. A new mining road may push the region past the brink
Distributed storage Answers for Information Reinforcement
IAF intercepts over 90% of drones launched by Iran, Hezbollah during Operation Roaring Lion
Palestinians protest against Israel's new death penalty law












