
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
AI is providing emotional support for employees – but is it a valuable tool or privacy threat? - 2
The Manual for Electric Vehicles that will be hot merchants in 2023 - 3
German Winemakers Rewrite The Rules Of Riesling In A Warming World - 4
Dave Coulier shares new cancer diagnosis 1 year after revealing previous diagnosis - 5
Kids who get 2-month vaccines on time 7 times more likely to receive MMR shot: Study
Sanofi to acquire hepatitis B vaccine maker Dynavax for $2.2 billion
Map shows more than 1,900 measles cases across U.S.
FDA claims on COVID-19 vaccine safety are unsupported by reliable data – and could severely hinder vaccine access
What to know as New York City nurses strike for a 3rd day
19 Peculiar Films You Shouldn't Watch With Your Mum
Pfizer says patient dies after receiving hemophilia drug in trial
'Stranger Things' Season 5: What's going on with Will Byers? That shocking Volume 1 plot twist, explained.
'Unreal' solar eclipse: Artemis 2 crew just saw one of the rarest sights in spaceflight history
The most effective method to Refresh the Infotainment Framework in the Volvo XC40













