Artemis II Crew Shares First High‑Resolution Images of Earth En route to the Moon

NASA released a set of striking, high‑resolution photographs taken by Commander Reid Wiseman from one of Orion’s four main windows after the crew completed the translunar injection burn on April 2. The images show the planet upside‑down, with the Sahara and Iberian Peninsula on the left, South America on the right, and the bright planet Venus glinting in the lower‑right corner.

A second picture, captured by Pilot Victor Glover, displays the full globe framed by green auroral curtains sweeping across the polar regions and a faint band of zodiacal light. The spacecraft was roughly 127,000 miles from Earth, the halfway point between the planet and the Moon, when the photos were downlinked.

The crew described the view as “beautiful” and “amazing,” noting that the perspective reinforces humanity’s fragile place in space. The images will be used for public outreach, scientific analysis of atmospheric phenomena, and as a visual benchmark for future Artemis missions.

NASA plans to continue transmitting additional frames as Artemis II approaches lunar orbit later this week, marking the first crewed trip around the Moon since 1972.