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Artemis II's moonbound astronauts capture Earth's brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind

Associated Press

April 4, 2026 - 1.58am

The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.

NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images on Friday, one and a half days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century.

The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows.

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This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from of the Orion spacecraft's window after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026. — The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. AP

This image provided by NASA shows a downlink image of Earth taken by NASAs Artemis II astronaut commander Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule. — NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images on Friday, one and a half days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century. AP

The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds. A green aurora even glows, according to NASA.

“It’s great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image," said NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins, an exploration systems leader. She added the mission was going well.

As of late Friday afternoon, Wiseman and his crew were more than 180,000 kilometres from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 240,000 kilometres to go. They should reach their destination on Monday.

This image taken from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they appear on a video conference from the moon's orbit. AP

In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight. — As of late Friday afternoon, Wiseman and his crew were more than 180,000 kilometres from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 240,000 kilometres to go. AP

The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping.

They fired Orion's main engine on Thursday night that set them on their course.

After Mission Control shifted the position of their capsule, the entire Earth complete with northern lights filled their windows.