NASA Releases Earth Photos from Artemis II

This image provided by NASA shows a downlink image of Earth taken by NASA Artemis II astronaut commander Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule on Friday, April 3, 2026.

NASA has released the first images of Earth taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft, where four astronauts are currently on a mission to orbit the moon.

In a photo shared on Friday, mission commander Reid Wiseman captured a view of Earth through the capsule's window. The image shows the planet shrouded in a sweeping cloud formation, seemingly rising above the spacecraft as the crew continued their journey.

A different image shows the whole world with oceans. Green auroras even shine.

As reported by AlJazeera, on Friday morning, Wiseman and his crew were 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers) from Earth and were quickly approaching the moon with 160,000 miles (258,000 km) remaining. They had to reach their destination on Monday.

Three American astronauts and one Canadian will fly around the moon in the Orion capsule before turning back to Earth without landing. The spacecraft was set on its course after the crew fired Orion's main engine on Thursday night.

"I know that's what we're going to see," Christina Koch, the first woman to travel around the moon, told ABC News in a video call on Thursday night.

"But nothing prepares you for the heart-wrenching aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up brightly like daytime and also the moon shining on it at night with a beautiful sunset and knowing that we're going to get a similar view from the moon. I'm really excited for that. And then, of course, coming home," he added.