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Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts share first images of Earth’s brilliant blue beauty

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…

By Samantha Johnson / April 3, 2026

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 Friday, 1½ days into the first astronaut moon shot 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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The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds

Earth is seen in an image taken by Nasa astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from the Orion spacecraft’s window on Thursday. Photo: Nasa via AP
Earth is seen in an image taken by Nasa astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from the Orion spacecraft’s window on Thursday. Photo: Nasa via AP

As of midmorning on Friday, Wiseman and his crew were 145,000km (90,000 miles) from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 270,000km (168,000 miles) to go.

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