Artemis IIAstronauts were given the opportunity to recreate an iconic 1968 photograph on either side of their journey around the Moon, showing Earth as beautiful and precious as ever.
By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron
” Earth “.
NASA
NASA launched four astronauts on a pioneering journey around the Moon: the Artemis II assignment. Follow our coverage here.
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Like the NASA crew Artemis II assignment revolved around the moon Monday – I will further from our world than any human has ever been– the astronauts had the Earth in mind.
Looking back at our home planet as they circled the far side of the Moon, the crew captured a new “Earthrise,” a stunning recreation of one of the most iconic photographs of our world ever taken. The original “Earthrise” was photographed by the late astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 assignment on December 24, 1968.
“Earthrise” captured through the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 6 at 7:22 p.m. EDT Monday.
NASA
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And less than an hour before, the Artemis II The crew also captured “Earthset,” showing our planet appearing to set behind the Moon. During the period between the two imaging opportunities, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen lost contact with Houston Ground Control for approximately 40 minutes while the Orion spacecraft rounded the hidden side of the moon.
By the time the astronauts would have seen the Earth set and rise, much of the Earth’s eastern hemisphere would have been visible to them. “To Asia, Africa and Oceania: we look to you,” Koch said after the crew circled the far side of the Moon and regained its signal with Houston on Monday. “We hear you can look up and see the moon right now. We see you too.”
The original iconic image of “Earthrise”, showing all of humanity suspended in the vastness of space, is attributed to help light a global environmental movement.
The iconic 1968 “Earthrise” photo
Contrary to Artemis II, however, the Apollo 8 The crew circled the Moon 10 times in total. The Orion spacecraft will not orbit the Moon. Anders took the image in the fourth orbit of Apollo 8The spaceship.
“Here comes the Earth”, Anders said at the time. “Wow, it’s pretty!”
Anders then compared the view of Earth to “a fragile Christmas tree decoration.”
“I thought: It’s a shame we don’t treat it more like a Christmas tree decoration,” Anders said in a statement. Interview with NASA in 2023. “It’s really a shame, we’re shooting missiles and rockets and so on at each other in this very small place that we call home,” Anders added. “It’s the only home in the universe for us humans. And it’s a shame we don’t treat it a little better.”
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