The Artemis II crew photographed a striking “Earthset” — the moment Earth slips below the Moon’s horizon — a sight many compared to the famous Apollo 8 Earthrise of 1968.
The four-person crew is now preparing to re-enter Earth’s gravity after setting a new human spaceflight distance record on Monday. Artemis II reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth, topping the 1970 Apollo 13 mark by more than 4,000 miles. The mission is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific off the California coast on Friday.
On Tuesday the astronauts watched a total solar eclipse from lunar orbit, donning protective glasses as the Moon briefly blocked the Sun. The team transmitted several images back to Earth, including views of the lunar surface and a crescent Earth descending along the Moon’s limb.
The crew consists of U.S. astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. Glover became the first Black person to fly around the Moon, Koch the first woman to do so, and Hansen the first non-American on a lunar flyby. Their historic circuit around the Moon is part of a broader program preparing for a possible crewed lunar landing in 2026.
Victor Glover reflected on the experience, saying, ‘Humans probably have not evolved to see what we’re seeing. It is truly hard to describe. It is amazing.’