Earthrise & Earthset: From Apollo to Artemis | NASA Artemis II Mission
Apollo then, Artemis now. A set of Earthset images captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, as well as Earthrise photos taken during the Apollo 11 (1969), 12 (1969), and 17 (1972) missions.
Image 2: This view of Earth rising over the Moon's horizon was taken from the Apollo spacecraft. The lunar terrain pictured is in the area of Smyth's Sea on the nearside. Coordinates of the center of the terrain are 85 degrees east longitude and 3 degrees north latitude.
Image 3: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime.
Image 4: The crescent Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this photograph taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during NASA's final lunar landing mission in the Apollo program.
Image 5: The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind.
Image 6: A partially illuminated Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this photograph taken from the Apollo 12 spacecraft in lunar orbit.
Image 7: As the Artemis II crew came close to passing behind the Moon and experiencing a planned loss of signal, they captured this image of a crescent Earth setting on the Moon’s limb. The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc—except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist onboard launched on the Artemis II mission, April 1, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s Artemis II Mission is taking Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard their Orion spacecraft.
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Video Credit: NASA's Ames Research Center
Duration: 28 seconds
Release Date: April 9, 2026
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