“You guys look great,” NASA astronaut and mission specialist Christina Koch said as they shared a high-resolution image of the Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman.
Photo: NASA
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this photo was captured from the Orion spacecraft’s window following the translunar injection burn— the maneuver that sent the craft out of Earth’s orbit and toward the Moon. “There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the sun,” the US space agency also pointed out.
Photo: NASA
Another image shows the terminator line– the line separating day and night. Meanwhile, a different shot captures a backlit Earth, with city lights glowing as sunlight hits the planet’s edge.
Photo: NASA
Artemis II is a crewed lunar flyby mission following the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022. The Orion spacecraft carries Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, alongside mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Launched on April 1, 2026, the 10-day mission is currently underway and marks the first time humans have traveled to the vicinity of the Moon in over 50 years.
See more photos from Artemis II’s journey to the moon here.
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