
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
An Extended time of Careful Nurturing: Individual Bits of knowledge on Bringing up Kids - 2
Police break up illegal chicken slaughter in Germany - 3
Vote in favor of the pasta that makes good dieting pleasant! - 4
'The best gift ever': Baby is born after the rarest of pregnancies, defying all odds - 5
Figure out How to Alter Your Volvo XC40 for Further developed Solace
With more Moon missions on the horizon, avoiding crowding and collisions will be a growing challenge
Virtual Route d: A Survey of \Exploring On the web Stages\ Web Administration
5 Side interests That Work on Psychological wellness
Figure out how to Use Your Brain research Degree in the Gig Market
Surging measles cases are 'fire alarm' warning that other diseases could be next
Ukrainian foreign minister appeals for funds for drones
NASA’s Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon – a space policy expert describes the long road to launch
Purdue Pharma's deal means money for some victims, end of Purdue company name. Here's what to know
Scientist turns people’s mental images into text using ‘mind-captioning’ technology













