NASA has shared the first high-resolution images of the Earth taken by the Artemis II crew as they head on their trip around the Moon. The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, took the 'spectacular' images after the crew completed a final engine burn that set them on a trajectory towards our closest celestial neighbour.
The first image, titled Hello, World, shows the vast expanse of blue that is the Atlantic Ocean, framed by a thin glow of the atmosphere as the Earth eclipses the Sun and green auroras at either pole. The Earth appears to us as upside down, with the western Sahara and Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right. NASA identified the bright planet to the bottom right as Venus.
The images were taken after the crew successfully completed a trans-lunar injection burn, which took the Orion spacecraft out of Earth orbit as the four astronauts aim to travel more than 200,000 miles to the Moon. Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again, the first time since 1972 that humans have traveled outside of Earth's orbit. The crew should pass the far side of the Moon on April 6 and return to Earth on April 10.
In addition to the breathtaking view of Earth, Wiseman captured another striking image that shows the divide between night and day known as the terminator, with the crew expressing their delight and excitement as they observe the stunning visuals of our planet from space.
The first image, titled Hello, World, shows the vast expanse of blue that is the Atlantic Ocean, framed by a thin glow of the atmosphere as the Earth eclipses the Sun and green auroras at either pole. The Earth appears to us as upside down, with the western Sahara and Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right. NASA identified the bright planet to the bottom right as Venus.
The images were taken after the crew successfully completed a trans-lunar injection burn, which took the Orion spacecraft out of Earth orbit as the four astronauts aim to travel more than 200,000 miles to the Moon. Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again, the first time since 1972 that humans have traveled outside of Earth's orbit. The crew should pass the far side of the Moon on April 6 and return to Earth on April 10.
In addition to the breathtaking view of Earth, Wiseman captured another striking image that shows the divide between night and day known as the terminator, with the crew expressing their delight and excitement as they observe the stunning visuals of our planet from space.
