NASA shares first photos of Earth taken by Artemis II

Space NASA shares first photos of Earth taken by Artemis II: "Hello, World" By Kerry Breen Kerry Breen News Editor Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use. Read Full Bio Kerry Breen Updated on: April 3, 2026 / 10:30 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google NASA released the first photos of Earth taken by the crew of Artemis II on Friday, hours after the mission left Earth's orbit. The first photo, taken by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, shows the entire planet, and both the Northern and Southern lights are visible over the poles. Zodiacal light, created by sunlight reflecting off dust in the solar system, is visible in the bottom right of the image. "Hello, World," NASA wrote in the photo caption. The photo was taken from the window of the Orion capsule, NASA said, after the crew completed their translunar injection burn. The space agency is also providing a livestream of views from Orion as it travels to and around the moon.  A photo of Earth taken from Artemis II's Orion capsule.  NASA/Reid Wiseman "We see our home planet as a whole, lit up in spectacular blues and browns," NASA wrote on X. "A green aurora even lights up the atmosphere. That's us, together, watching as our astronauts make their journey to the Moon."Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen told NASA's mission control spacecraft communicator that the Artemis II crew was "glued to the window" and "taking pictures" of the planet after breaking out of Earth orbit. In a live conversation with reporters late Thursday night, Wiseman described a moment similar to the one shown in the photograph. "There was a moment, about an hour ago, where mission control Houston reoriented our spacecraft as the sun was setting behind the Earth…but you could see the entire globe fro...