NASA has released the first high-resolution images of Earth captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the Moon.
Mission commander Reid Wiseman took the “spectacular” images after the final engine burn placed the spacecraft on a trajectory toward Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor, according to NASA.
The first image, titled Hello, World, shows the vast blue Atlantic Ocean framed by a thin glow of Earth’s atmosphere as it passes in front of the Sun, with green auroras visible at both poles, reports BBC via Rks News.
From this perspective, Earth appears upside down, with Western Sahara and the Iberian Peninsula on the left, and the eastern part of South America on the right. NASA identified the bright planet in the lower right corner as Venus. The images were taken after the trans-lunar injection burn early Friday morning, which sent the Orion spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit.
The four astronauts on board are traveling over 200,000 miles toward the Moon. Artemis II is now in a looping trajectory that will take the crew around the far side of the Moon and then back toward Earth. This marks the first time humans have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972.
The crew is expected to pass around the Moon’s far side on April 6 and return to Earth on April 10.
After the burn, crew members eagerly pressed against the windows to take photos, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen reported to mission control in Houston:
“We’re seeing a beautiful view of the dark side of Earth, illuminated by the Moon,” he said.
Wiseman later asked mission control how to clean the windows, as the astronauts’ excitement had left smudges. Initially, capturing Earth from the spacecraft was challenging due to the great distance and difficulty adjusting exposure.
“It’s like stepping into your backyard and trying to take a photo of the Moon,” he told mission control. “That’s what it feels like now.” But that challenge has been overcome.
Another image taken by Wiseman shows Earth split between day and night. The dividing line between light and darkness is known as the terminator.
