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The NASA published stunning high-resolution photographs of Earth taken from the Orion capsule of the Artemis II mission this Friday, accompanied by the message "Good morning, world," as the four astronauts continue their journey to the Moon.
The images show the planet from deep space with intense blue and brown tones, cloud formations, and a green aurora visible in the Earth's atmosphere, a phenomenon rarely photographed with such clarity from that distance.
"We see our planet as a whole, illuminated in stunning blues and browns. A green aurora even lights up the atmosphere. It is us, together, watching as our astronauts embark on their journey to the Moon," the space agency wrote on its official account.
One of the photographs was taken from inside the capsule, with the Earth framed through the spacecraft's window, providing the exact perspective that astronauts have during the journey.
Artemis II was
On Thursday, after approximately 25 hours in Earth orbit, the spacecraft executed a five-minute and 49-second translunar injection maneuver, making its crew the first humans to travel beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The crew is composed of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover —the first Afro-descendant to travel near the Moon—, Mission Specialist Christina Koch —the first woman on a crewed lunar mission— and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, the first citizen of Canada to participate in such a mission.
The ship, named "Integrity" by the crew, is equipped with over 28 cameras, including 12-megapixel Redwire cameras, 4K video, and modified GoPro cameras mounted on the solar panels.
The images are also made possible by the optical communications system O2O, which uses infrared lasers to transmit 4K video from deep space at speeds of up to 260 Mbps, far surpassing the radio communications of the Apollo era.
Artemis II does not include a lunar landing; its goal is to validate the Orion systems with a human crew before Artemis III, which is planned to be the first lunar landing since Apollo 17.
The lunar flyby is scheduled for April 6, at more than 7,600 km from the far side of the Moon, and the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego is set for April 10.
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