NASA releases first-ever photo of Earth from the far side of the moon
Fox News • • general
Key Points:
- NASA released the first-ever photo of Earth taken from the far side of the moon during the Artemis II mission, a historic image dubbed "Earthset" and compared to the iconic 1968 "Earthrise" photo from Apollo 8.
- President Donald Trump praised the Artemis II astronauts in a phone call, calling them "modern-day pioneers" and congratulating Commander Reid Weissman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
- The photo, captured through the Orion spacecraft window during a moon flyby, shows a muted blue Earth with bright white clouds over Australia and Oceania, with the dark portion experiencing nighttime.
- Artemis II astronauts described the unique view of Earth as special, noting the contrast between Earth's beauty and the surrounding blackness of space.
- The Artemis II crew is returning to Earth after traveling over 695,000 miles, with a planned splashdown off the coast of San Diego early Friday evening, marking a significant step toward America's return to the lunar surface.
