The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.
NASA has released initial images taken from inside the Orion spacecraft as the crew — commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — forge ahead with their lunar mission.
One photo taken by commander Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows.
The crew says: Â “The views are extraordinary.” (AP: NASA)
The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds.
A green aurora even glows, according to NASA.
“It’s great to think that — with the exception of our four friends — all of us are represented in this image,” said NASA’s Lakiesha Hawkins, an exploration systems leader back on the ground.
She added the mission was going well.
In pictures: Artemis II NASA’s first mission to the Moon in decades
The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping.
They have fired Orion’s main engine, setting them on their course.
After Mission Control Center shifted the position of their capsule, the entire Earth complete with northern lights filled their windows.
“It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks,” commander Wiseman said.
The crew members were able to catch their breath, and have taken part in a Q&A session with the press.
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Jeremy Hansen told reporters: “There has been a tremendous amount of disbelief for me, it’s just so extraordinary. I really like it up here.
“The views are extraordinary.”
“It’s really fun to be floating around” in zero gravity, he added.
“It just makes me feel like a little kid.”
The crew members are the first lunar travellers since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Artemis II mission is part of a longer-term plan to repeatedly return to the moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent lunar base that will offer a platform for further exploration.
AP/AFP