Artemis II crew take 'spectacular' image of Earth

Artemis II crew take 'spectacular' image of EarthJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSofia Ferreira SantosNasa/Reid WisemanThe image, titled Hello, World, shows the Earth and Venus as seen from the Orion capsuleNasa has shared the first high-resolution images of the Earth taken by the Artemis II crew as they head on their trip around the Moon.The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, took the "spectacular" images, Nasa says, after the crew completed a final engine burn that set them on a trajectory towards our closest celestial neighbour.The first image, called Hello, World, shows the vast expanse of blue that is the Atlantic Ocean, framed by a thin glow of the atmosphere as the Earth eclipses the Sun and green auroras at either pole.The Earth appears to us as upside down, with the western Sahara and Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.Nasa identified the bright planet to the bottom right as Venus.Nasa/Reid WisemanWiseman also took this picture, titled Artemis II Looking Back at Earth, from one of the Orion spacecraft's four main windowsThe images were taken after the crew successfully completed a trans-lunar injection burn in the early hours of Friday.The burn took the Orion spacecraft out of Earth's orbit as the four astronauts aboard aim to travel the more than 200,000 miles to the Moon.Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again. It is the first time since 1972 that humans have travelled outside of the Earth's orbit.The crew should pass around the far side of the Moon on 6 April and return to Earth on 10 April.NASAAnother image taken by the crew shows the divide between night and day, known as the terminator, cutting across EarthAfter the burn was completed, the crew were "glued to the windows" taking pictures, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen told mission control in Houston."We are get...