NASA releases first Earth images from Artemis II moon mission
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NASA has released the first images taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as its four astronauts travel toward the moon.
A photograph shared on Friday by mission commander Reid Wiseman shows Earth through the capsule window, covered in sweeping cloud formations and appearing to rise beyond the spacecraft.
Another image shows the full globe with the oceans visible and a green aurora glowing above the planet.
By midmorning Friday, the crew was about 100,000 miles, or 160,000 kilometres, from Earth, with another 160,000 miles, or 258,000 kilometres, to go before reaching the moon on Monday.
The mission includes three American astronauts and one Canadian astronaut. They will fly around the moon in the Orion capsule before returning to Earth without landing. Orion was set on its course after the crew fired the spacecraft’s main engine on Thursday night.
“I knew that that is what we would see,” mission specialist Christina Koch said during a video call on Thursday night. “But there’s nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day and also the moon glow on it at night with a beautiful beam of the sunset.”
Koch is the first woman to journey around the moon.
The mission is in its third day of a planned 10-day flight. On the sixth day, Orion will make its closest approach to the moon, passing about 4,000 to 6,000 miles, or 6,450 to 9,650 kilometres, above the lunar surface.
The astronauts will then travel around the far side of the moon, becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to journey that far into deep space. Before the flyby, the crew is rehearsing the scientific observations planned for the lunar pass.
After looping around the moon, Orion will use the moon’s gravity to return to Earth. Splashdown is expected in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on April 11 at 00:06 GMT.
Victor Glover said the view of Earth from space was a reminder of humanity’s shared identity. “From up here, you look like one thing. Homo sapiens is all of us. We’re all one people,” he said.