NASA's Artemis II Crew Send Stunning Pictures Of Earth Back To Earth
As they travel farther from the Earth than any human beings have done since 1972, the crew of NASA's Artemis II mission haven't forgotten the world they left behind. They've been taking some pictures on their Personal Computing Devices, tablets designed for the mission. You know how sometimes you ask a stranger to snap a pic of you? This is like that, except all of humanity collectively asked the Artemis team to do it. They sure obliged.
And, man, sometimes in this chaotic life, you just need to be stunned by some beauty. The top image is of the Earth just after the Sun has gone behind it, meaning this is technically a night photo (just with a long exposure). You can see the city lights, and if you look closer at the upper right and lower left, you can see auroras in the atmosphere. The bright shine of the lower right is the last light of the Sun. For reference, below is a shorter exposure that makes it look more night-like.
These sights are so gorgeous that they are (jokingly) causing problems for the crew. "It paused all four of us in our tracks," said Commander Reid Wiseman, who probably had more serious matters to attend to, per CNN. In fact, the crew have been touching the windows so much, they had to ask Houston the proper procedure to clean them. Jeremy Hansen, the onboard mission specialist from the Canadian Space Agency, confirmed the dire state of affairs: "None of us can get to lunch because we're glued to the window. We're taking pictures. Reid said he just can't take it anymore." May you be grateful that you yourself are looking at a screen right now, instead of being subjected to such powerful cosmic wonder.
This island Earth
The above picture is a crew's-eye view of Earth from inside the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, something I hope every vehicle I get into maintains. It makes the Earth look a little curious, like it's just poking its head over the window frame, wondering what's inside. Or maybe it's just wondering where those four little humans are going. Don't worry, Earth: they should be back on April 10.
Finally, above we have a shadowed profile of my home and yours, a slick shot that any model photographer would be proud of.
All of these photos were taken by Wiseman on his tablet, which has been giving him some very terrestrial problems. Proving that he truly does represent the majority of all human beings, Wiseman could not get Microsoft Outlook to work correctly. Apparently two instances of it started running at once, and then nothing worked right, and then he had to call IT, which of course turned out to be some guy from far away (Earth). Well, I'm glad they sorted it out, because now we have these incredible photos of one little planet in a vast cosmos. There will be more to come. And better yet, some shots of the Moon, too.