Astronauts of the Artemis II mission have taken pictures of the entire Earth from deep space for the first time in half a century. The unique shots were released by NASA, and they have already become some of the most striking photos of the planet in recent decades. This is reported by NASA.
Earth photo from Artemis II: how the planet looks from space in 2026
The images were taken by the crew members of the Artemis II mission right through the window of the Orion spacecraft during their flight to the Moon. These are the first such photographs taken by humans since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The new shots allow us to see Earth as astronauts see it - as a bright sphere surrounded by the darkness of space. The images showcase the fully illuminated part of the planet and allow us to appreciate its scale from a great distance.
The crew continues to execute the mission and is proceeding along the planned route to the Moon aboard Orion.
Photo of Earth from space: how space photos of the planet have changed
Similar images of Earth from a great distance have been obtained before, but not directly by humans. For example, in 2015, the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite transmitted a detailed photo of the planet from a distance of about 1.6 million km.
In that shot, the following could be seen:
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North and Central America;
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the shallow waters of the Caribbean with a characteristic turquoise hue;
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the fully sunlit side of the Earth.
The image was created using the EPIC camera installed on board the spacecraft.
The new photos from Artemis II mark an important milestone in space exploration as they combine modern technologies and direct human involvement in capturing images of Earth from deep space.
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