Artemis II crew take ‘spectacular’ image of Earth

Artemis II Crew Captures Stunning Earth Views

NASA released the initial high-definition images captured by the Artemis II crew as they embarked on their lunar orbit journey. These visuals, deemed “spectacular” by the agency, were taken following a final engine burn that propelled the spacecraft toward the Moon. The first photograph, titled Hello, World, highlights the expansive blue of the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by the faint shimmer of Earth’s atmosphere during a solar eclipse, with green auroras visible at both poles.

The image reveals Earth as inverted, showcasing the western Sahara and Iberian Peninsula on the left, while the right side displays South America’s eastern coast. NASA confirmed the bright object at the bottom right is Venus. The trans-lunar injection burn, completed in the early hours of Friday, marked the crew’s departure from Earth orbit, setting them on a path to traverse over 200,000 miles to reach the Moon.

Artemis II is now following a trajectory that will circumnavigate the Moon’s far side before returning. This marks the first human venture beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972. The crew is scheduled to pass the far side on 6 April and return to Earth on 10 April. Following the burn, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen described the astronauts’ fascination with the Earth’s dark side, illuminated by lunar light, as they eagerly snapped photos.

“We are getting a beautiful view of the dark side of the Earth, lit by the Moon,” Hansen shared with mission control in Houston.

Commander Reid Wiseman later contacted mission control to inquire about cleaning the windows, which had become smudged from the crew’s excitement. Initially, he struggled with capturing Earth’s details from the spacecraft, comparing the challenge to “taking a picture of the moon from your backyard.” However, this difficulty has now been resolved.

A subsequent image by Wiseman captures the Earth split between night and day, highlighting the terminator line—the boundary where light transitions into darkness. NASA also shared a photograph of the Earth in near-total darkness, with human-made lights twinkling like stars. The agency added a side-by-side comparison of the 2026 view with the Apollo 17 images from 1972, the last lunar landing. “Our home still shines beautifully from space,” NASA remarked, emphasizing the unchanged allure of Earth despite technological progress.