NASA has released the first photos taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft, showing Earth in stunning detail as four astronauts journey toward the moon.
The images highlight the planet’s beauty and the historic nature of the mission.
On Friday, mission commander Reid Wiseman shared a photograph of Earth through the Orion capsule’s window. The image shows the planet veiled in sweeping cloud formations, rising majestically beyond the spacecraft.
Another striking image captures the full globe with its oceans visible and a green aurora glowing faintly on the horizon, offering a view rarely seen by human eyes.
As of midmorning Friday, the crew was roughly 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometres) from Earth, rapidly closing in on the moon, with another 160,000 miles (258,000 km) to go.
Crew and mission details
The Artemis II crew includes three American astronauts and one Canadian, who will fly around the moon in Orion without landing. The spacecraft’s course was set after the crew fired Orion’s main engine on Thursday night.
Mission specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to travel around the moon, described the experience:
“There’s nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day and also the moon glow on it at night … I’m really excited for that. And then, of course, heading home.”
Historic lunar flyby
The mission is now on its third day of a planned 10-day journey. On the sixth day, the crew will perform a close flyby of the moon, reaching an altitude of 4,000–6,000 miles (6,450–9,650 km) above the lunar surface.
They will travel around the far side of the moon, becoming the first humans in over 50 years to venture that far into deep space. During this phase, the astronauts are rehearsing scientific observations they plan to carry out.
After looping around the moon, Orion will use lunar gravity to return to Earth, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on April 11 at 00:06 GMT (April 10, 8:06 PM ET).
"Suddenly, we're up there with them."
— NASA (@NASA) April 3, 2026
We're sharing the Artemis II crew's first images from space—keep following our 24/7 live feed for the latest mission updates: https://t.co/BezILihoZc pic.twitter.com/OwgYsWnngp
For the astronauts, the mission offers more than scientific achievement—it is a powerful reminder of humanity’s shared identity. Victor Glover, the first Black astronaut to journey beyond low-Earth orbit, reflected on the view:
“Trust us, you look amazing. You look beautiful. From up here, you look like one thing. Homo sapiens is all of us … We’re all one people.”
He added that the mission highlights the power of collaboration:
“This mission brought us together and showed us what we can do when we bring our differences together and use all the strengths to accomplish something great.”
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