Artemis II Crew Captures Breathtaking Views of Earth from Deep Space
Finn's Take· TL;DR- Artemis II astronauts captured first-ever photos from deep space showing Earth with auroras and zodiacal light, stunning the crew into prolonged viewing.
- Crew of four is 100,000 miles from Earth, heading toward moon; Monday's lunar flyby will set new human distance record beyond Apollo era.
- Emotional astronauts emphasized Earth's unity from space, skipping meals to photograph planet and requesting window-cleaning procedures due to constant gazing.
Historic Photos from Beyond Earth's Orbit
NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took stunning photographs of Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window using his Personal Computing Device — a tablet that includes a camera . The images show Earth backlit, with auroras visible at the top right and bottom left, and zodiacal light visible at the bottom right as the Earth eclipses the sun . These are the first downlinked images from the Artemis II astronauts .
NASA mission control at Johnson Space Center in Houston described the first image as a "reminder that no matter how far we go, we are still one world, watching, hoping and reaching higher" . Another image, taken just minutes apart with a shorter shutter speed, emphasizes Earth's nighttime glow, with electric lights sprinkled across the globe and sunlight visible along the planet's edge .
Wiseman described the moment when their entire view was filled with Earth and northern lights: "It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks" . Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen told mission control that the crew was "glued to the window" and "taking pictures" of the planet .
Journey to the Moon Continues
As of Friday morning, the crew was about 100,000 miles from Earth and more than 100,000 miles from Earth, with about 150,000 miles to go to the moon . The four crew members — NASA astronauts Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — launched Wednesday on the 10-day mission .
The three American astronauts and one Canadian will fly around the moon in the Orion capsule before looping back toward Earth without landing, after the crew fired Orion's main engine on Thursday night to set their course . The next major milestone will be Monday, when the crew is expected to fly around the moon, which 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 .
Mission specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to journey around the moon, told reporters: "I knew that that is what we would see. 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" .
Crew's Emotional Response to the Views
Astronaut Victor Glover shared his perspective with reporters: "Trust us, you look amazing. You look beautiful. From up here, you look like one thing. Homo sapiens is all of us – no matter where you're from or what you look like. We're all one people" .
The crew was so captivated by the views that they postponed their first meal together in space to continue taking photographs, with Hansen noting: "We are getting just a beautiful view of the dark side of the Earth right now lit by the moon" . Wiseman noted that the windows of Orion are already dirty because the crew has enjoyed looking out of them so much, and he asked for procedures to clean the windows .
The Artemis II images of Earth showcase perspectives of our planet that haven't been seen by human eyes since astronauts last left Earth orbit during the Apollo era . They're the first lunar travelers since Apollo 17 in 1972 . This mission represents humanity's return to deep space exploration and sets the stage for future lunar missions that could establish a permanent human presence on the moon.