NASA has released the first high-resolution images of Earth captured by the Artemis II crew as their spacecraft passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon during the historic mission.
The spectacular images were taken by mission commander Reid Wiseman after the crew successfully completed a critical engine burn that set the Orion spacecraft on its trajectory toward the Moon.
At around 07:00 BST, NASA’s mission dashboard showed the Orion capsule traveling approximately 142,000 miles (228,500 kilometers) from Earth and about 132,000 miles from the Moon as it continued its journey deeper into space.
Astronaut Christina Koch said the crew celebrated the milestone with a collective “expression of joy,” which came roughly two days, five hours and 24 minutes after the spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
One of the first images released, titled “Hello, World,” captures the vast blue Atlantic Ocean framed by the glow of Earth’s atmosphere as the planet partially eclipses the Sun. The photograph also reveals shimmering green auroras near both poles.
In the image, Earth appears upside down, with the western Sahara and the Iberian Peninsula visible on the left side and the eastern portion of South America on the right. NASA also identified a bright point of light in the image as the planet Venus.
Another photo taken from inside the Orion spacecraft, titled “Artemis II Looking Back at Earth,” shows the planet through one of the capsule’s main windows, offering a rare perspective from deep space.
The photos were taken shortly after the crew completed a crucial maneuver known as a trans-lunar injection burn early Friday. The burn propelled the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and placed it on a path toward the Moon, marking the first time since 1972 that humans have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit.
Artemis II is now following a looping trajectory that will carry the astronauts around the far side of the Moon before returning them safely to Earth.
The four-member crew launched earlier this week from Kennedy Space Center and are expected to pass behind the Moon on April 6 before beginning their return journey. The mission is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.
During the journey, the astronauts have spent time photographing Earth through Orion’s windows. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen told mission control that the crew had been “glued to the windows,” captivated by the view of the planet illuminated by moonlight.
Another image captured by Wiseman shows the boundary between day and night on Earth, known as the “terminator,” slicing across the planet’s surface.
NASA later released a dramatic image showing Earth almost entirely in darkness, with the glow of human-made city lights visible across the night side of the planet.
The space agency also shared a comparison between the new Artemis II photos and similar images captured by the Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972, the last time humans traveled to the Moon.
Reflecting on the moment, NASA noted that while technology has advanced dramatically in the 54 years since the Apollo era, one thing remains unchanged: Earth’s breathtaking beauty when viewed from space.
