During their flight around the Moon, the Artemis II astronauts photographed Earth setting behind the lunar horizon.
On 6 April 2026, as the Orion spacecraft passed behind the far side of the Moon, the Artemis II crew photographed Earth sinking behind the lunar horizon.
The picture echoes one of the most famous photographs of all time, Earthrise, taken by the crew of Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first time people orbited the Moon.
More than half a century later, people once again see their home planet as a small, fragile world above the grey lunar surface.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program. It tests the Orion spacecraft with astronauts on board before future missions attempt to land near the Moon's south pole.
Image: A Breathtaking Earthset from Orion. Credit: NASA. Source, NASA media guidelines.
Comments
Goosebumps. Exactly the kind of picture that makes you think about how small we are.
Great to see people around the Moon again after more than fifty years.