NASA's Artemis II new Earth snaps send internet into frenzy

Artemis II, which is on its third day of the flyby moon mission, shares stunning new snaps of Earth from orbit.

These epic snaps were taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft by Reid Wiseman.

The Orion spacecraft is carrying four astronauts, including mission commander Reid Wiseman, Christian Koch, Victor Glover and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day flyby mission to the Moon.

It’s the first time in five decades that NASA astronauts will fly by the far side of the Moon since Apollo 13 in 1972.

Glover will become the first Black man to orbit the Moon, while Koch will be the first woman and Hansen the first Canadian to do so.

The image features the planet wrapped in thick cloud cover, as if rising beyond the spacecraft as the crew continues its voyage.

The second snap features all of Earth “lit up in spectacular blues and browns” as a “green aurora even lights up the atmosphere,” NASA captioned the post.

The latest images were shared by NASA after the release of the first snap on day two of Artemis II.

This image highlighted the end of Orion’s service module, where its main engine and auxiliary thrusters help propel and maneuver the capsule.

The Orion spacecraft was set on its course after the crew fired the capsule’s main engine on Thursday night, April 2, 2026.

How to track Artemis II mission?

To track the live updates of NASA’s Artemis II Moon mission, it has developed a special portal called the “Artemis Real-Time Orbit Website”—AROW.

The mission is now on its third day out of a planned 10-day flight.

At the time of writing, Artemis II has covered a distance of over 150,000 miles from Earth with halfway into their mission.

If the Artemis II keeps traveling at this speed, it should reach its destination on Monday, April 6, 2026.

The sixth day is critical to Artemis II, as the crew will fly by the moon that day, when the Orion spacecraft reaches its closest approach, roughly 4,000-6,000 miles above the lunar surface.

It will mark a historic day as another giant leap for mankind.

The astronauts will travel around the far side of the moon, the first humans to do so in deep space in over five decades.

After orbiting the Moon, Orion capsule will use its gravity to head back to Earth, with splashdown expected in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 11, 2026.