The astronauts of the "Artemis 2" mission of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continue their journey towards the moon, hours after they left Earth orbit, in a mission that is expected to reach the farthest point humans reach in space, while the crew documented its first day by taking pictures of the Earth as it gradually diminishes during the ascent.

Published on: 04/03/2026 - 04:06 Last updated: 04/05/2026 - 15:53

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The astronauts of the "Artemis 2" mission of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continue their journey towards the moon, and on its first day, the crew tested the cameras that it will use during the trip, by taking pictures of the Earth as it gradually diminishes as the vehicle ascends.

“It's like going out into your backyard and trying to take a picture of the moon,” crew commander Reed Wiseman told Mission Control in Houston, while taking pictures of the Earth with an iPhone. “This is the feeling I have right now trying to take a picture of the Earth.”

He explained that photographing from a distance of more than 40,000 miles (about 64,000 km), as the Earth appears like a small ball glowing with sunlight, made it difficult to adjust the exposure settings on the phone camera.

Read also: Artemis 2: What comes after the moon?

The mission launched from Florida at 6:35 pm EST (22:35 GMT) on Wednesday, carrying four astronauts carrying various devices to take space images from inside the “Orion” capsule throughout the journey.

These devices include small GoPro cameras, iPhones, and professional Nikon cameras that NASA astronauts have used for years aboard the International Space Station.

NASA has not yet published any photos taken by the crew, but it expects to publish them later during the mission.

On the sixth day, the astronauts are expected to reach a distance of approximately 252,000 miles from Earth, which is the farthest point humans have reached so far, as the planet will appear the size of a basketball behind the dark side of the moon.

France 24/Reuters

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