NEW DELHI, APRIL 7: NASA released a historic “Earthset” photograph on Tuesday, showing the Earth dipping below the lunar horizon as the Artemis II crew completed a record-setting flyby of the Moon. Captured from the Orion spacecraft, the image comes 57 years after the iconic “Earthrise” photo taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders in 1968.
The mission reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, establishing a new record for human spaceflight. This milestone placed the four-person crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—approximately 4,111 miles farther from home than the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.
NASA’s official website stated that the crew has concluded its lunar observation phase and is now beginning the return journey. During the flyby, the spacecraft passed behind the Moon, resulting in a planned 40-minute communications blackout. Christina Koch maintained that catching the first glimpses of Earth after the signal loss was a highlight of the journey. “It really just reminds you what a special place we have,” Koch asserted.
Launched from the Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the mission is the first crewed flight under the Artemis program. Commander Reid Wiseman affirmed the significance of the mission’s sights, stating that the crew was excited to witness the nation and the planet moving toward becoming a “two-planet species.” The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to conclude its 10-day test flight with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean this Friday.
