Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind

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Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind

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. (NASA via AP)

2026-04-03T14:42:48Z

                                       

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-artemis-astronauts-moon-6ef3f195b4d4f8abcbfa908cacea6da6">Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXOScAb27mM[/youtube]&t=20s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closer to the moon.

NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-artemis-moon-launch-055040ce0579ec238d0ec9fcb0278ed3">first astronaut moonshot in more than         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-moon-artemis-astronauts-f3f49214618099a98338835715e4562a">half a century.

The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds.

As of midmorning Friday, Wiseman and his crew were 90,000 miles (145,000 kilometers) from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 168,000 miles (270,000 kilometers) to go. They should reach their destination on Monday.

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 Thursday night that set them on their course.

They’re the first lunar travelers since Apollo 17 in 1972.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

                                   
                               
                           

                           
                   
                   
Source: Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind