
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
Finding Ideal Date Spots for Two or three Encounters - 2
German inflation soars to 2.7% in March as Iran war drives up prices - 3
Figure out How to Establish a long term connection with Your Handshake - 4
High Court weighs Assenheim appeal over release of Feldstein interview raw footage - 5
Manual for Tracking down the Mysterious Cascades in China
Carrying on with a Sans plastic Way of life: Individual Examinations in Maintainability
Undeniably popular Historical centers: Where Craftsmanship and History Meet
We tasted one of the 10,000 Hershey's Dubai chocolate bars being resold on eBay. Is it worth the hype?
REWE launches seventh Pick&Go test store in Hanover
Hezbollah rockets hit 165 UNIFIL positions in Lebanon while targeting Israel, IDF reveals
Most loved Caf\u00e9 Chain: Where Do You Get Your Caffeine Fix
Israeli lawmakers pass bill reviving death penalty for terrorists
This ‘CSI: Miami’ star spent years solving crimes on TV. Then she became the target of one herself.
Intriguing Strange Cruising Objections you Should Visit












