NASA shares striking photos of Earth during Artemis II moon trip

The Artemis II astronauts just shared the most stunning views of Earth yet just three days into their historic mission around the moon.

Reminiscent of the iconic “blue marble” image captured during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, one in the newest batch of photos shows Earth in striking detail as the astronauts near a milestone distance of 100,000 miles away in space. The image, captured by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, is perhaps among the clearest and most detailed views of our home planet in more than half a century after the Apollo-era photo became one of the most famous photographs of Earth.

Another image also captured by Wiseman and shared Friday, shows a view of Earth from within the Orion capsule he and three others are piloting on a 10-day journey around the moon.

In the days ahead, the mission will see the astronauts become the first ⁠to ever lay eyes on a view of the far side of the moon that not even the Apollo astronauts witnessed.

Along the way, they’ll test out systems and hardware to ensure NASA is ready to put boots on the lunar surface as early as 2028. The space agency’s multibillion-dollar Artemis campaign is far from a reprise of its Apollo program, as the series of missions are aimed to set up a moon base toward the lunar south pole ahead of the first crewed expeditions to Mars.Here’s a look at all the imagery shared so far from space early on into the Artemis II moon mission.

NASA’s latest photos, shared Friday from the Artemis II mission, show breathtaking sights of Earth from the perspective of tens of thousands of miles away as the Orion capsule continues to transport the astronauts toward the moon.

The first image is of Earth peeking through the window of Orion’s crew module, where the astronauts reside. Another shows all of Earth “lit up in spectacular blues and browns” as a “green aurora even lights up the atmosphere,” NASA explained.

NASA then later shared another two images from Wiseman, the first of which shows “the divide between night and day, known as the terminator, cutting across Earth,” according to the ⁠agency. Yet another photo shows our planet “represented by the electric lights of human activity,” with sunlight illuminating the edge of the planet, NASA said.

The new images come after NASA released a photo on the second day of the spaceflight that appeared to show the end of Orion’s service module, where its main engine and auxiliary thrusters help propel and maneuver the vehicle.

The Artemis II astronauts have also appeared from inside Orion during live events beamed back to Earth, shown in screengrabs in the below gallery.

Where is Artemis II now? Location tracker

Want to follow the astronauts along the Artemis II lunar journey? NASA has an Artemis II tracker available online and on its mobile app that allows users to see where Orion is, how ⁠fast it’s traveling and how far the spacecraft is from both the Earth and the moon.

The mobile version for smartphones even includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones ⁠to see where Orion is relative to Earth.

When will Artemis II reach the moon?

If all goes according to schedule, Artemis II is due to reach the moon and make a historic lunar flyby Monday, April 6.

Swooping around the moon’s far side, the astronauts aboard Orion are expected to travel farther from Earth than any humans ever have – surpassing the record of 248,655 miles set in 1970 during the infamous Apollo 13 mission. Whizzing by the moon up to 6,000 miles ⁠above the surface, the astronauts will also glimpse the celestial body’s full disk, seeing sights that not even the Apollo astronauts witnessed.

Artemis II astronauts

The crew members of Artemis II includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.

The mission will make Glover the first Black man to venture within the vicinity of the moon, while ⁠Koch will become the first woman and Hansen the first Canadian to do so.

All three Americans are experienced astronauts who have been to space before on ventures to the International Space Station, while Hansen, a veteran aviator, is making his first spaceflight.

How long is the Artemis II mission? Here’s when they’ll land on Earth

With the moon rendezvous complete, the astronauts will then make a four-day journey back to Earth, using our planet’s gravity to naturally “slingshot,” or pull Orion ⁠back home, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.

Once Orion blazes through Earth’s atmosphere, a protective heat shield will be cast off to make way for parachutes to deploy and slow the vehicle down.

The capsule will then make a water landing likely Friday, April 10, in the Pacific Ocean near California off the coast of San Diego, after which five orange airbags will inflate around the top of the spacecraft and flip the capsule into an upright position. After the landing, the crew would exit the vehicle onto a U.S. Navy recovery vessel within about two hours.