Artemis 2 crew share dramatic pictures of Earth tens of thousands of miles away

Artemis 2 crew share dramatic pictures of Earth tens of thousands of miles awayThe Artemis 2 astronauts have taken incredible images of Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft as they make their way to the Moon and back on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972CommentsNewsEliana Nunes News Reporter18:39, 03 Apr 2026Updated 18:39, 03 Apr 2026Nasa's Artemis II blasts off for the moonIncredible images of Earth taken by the Artemis 2 crew aboard the Orion spacecraft have been shared by NASA.‌The four astronauts on NASA's Artemis 2 mission are currently on day three of their 10-day, 600,000-mile journey around the Moon and back after blasting off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6.35pm EDT (11.35pm BST) on Wednesday. Pictures taken by Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman show continents, clouds and oceans in vivid colours along with a green aurora seen near both poles of the globe.‌At the time of reporting on Friday evening, NASA's digital tracker shows the Orion capsule is now more than 100,000 miles away from Earth. The spacecraft is travelling at more than 3,500 miles per hour and is expected to reach a distance of 252,799 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 - 248,655 miles - in 1970. It is expected to carry out a lunar flyby on Monday.‌View 3 ImagesAn image of Earth taken by NASA Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman (Image: AP)READ MORE: Plane passenger captures incredible mid-air video of Artemis II rocket launchREAD MORE: Artemis II moon mission: Astronaut sends message of hope as Artemis II blasts out of Earth's orbitCommander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are living in the Orion capsule, which is roughly the size of a garden shed at about 15ft wide and 9ft high.The astronauts spent the first 25 hours of their mission circling Earth in a high, lopsided orbit. They have been using the separated upper stage as a target, steering their Orion ca...