The Artemis 2 mission is underway, with four astronauts heading to the moon aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the first time in more than 50 years. Although the astronauts are on their 10-day journey, they are more than halfway to the moon and are scheduled to fly by it on Monday.
Four astronauts launched last Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and spent their first day in space testing the systems of the Orion capsule. NASA Commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen are all aboard Orion.
Hansen was on a live video call with Earth on Saturday morning, where he answered questions about three days into the mission. The Canadian astronaut said all training helps prepare the crew for the trip, but nothing compares to experiencing the trip in this moment.
“The view of Earth and crescent Earth is truly incredible,” Hansen said, adding that scientists told the team they could expect to see the eclipse behind the moon.
More spectacular visuals will be sent back to Earth in the coming days, especially when they reach the far side of the moon. But for now, keep scrolling to see the stunning images we’ve seen from the Artemis 2 mission so far, including snapshots from launch day to the first photos of Earth since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
The Artemis 2 crew departs Astronaut Headquarters at Kennedy Space Center on April 1. From left to right are Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reed Wiseman and Christina Koch. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NurPhoto via Getty Images)
On April 1, the Artemis 2 manned lunar landing mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center. Four astronauts took off on a NASA rocket and began their long-awaited journey around the moon. It was the first manned flyby of the moon in more than half a century. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
(Jim Watson via Getty Images)
Hansen, Wiseman, Coker and Glover answered reporters’ questions during the mission’s first downlink event on April 2. (NASA TV/Reuters handout)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
On April 3, on the third day of the Artemis 2 mission, NASA astronaut Koch was illuminated by a screen inside the dark Orion spacecraft. (NASA/Reuters handout)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
Artemis 2 astronauts photograph the lunar landscape through the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 3, the third day of the NASA mission. (NASA/Reuters handout)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
A view of the Orion capsule taken with cameras mounted on the wings of its solar array during a routine external inspection of the Orion spacecraft on April 3, the second day of the Artemis II mission. (Handout provided by NASA/Reuters)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
On April 2, NASA astronaut Wiseman took a photo of the Earth from a window of the Orion spacecraft after completing the translunar injection burn. This image shows that when the Earth blocks the Sun, two auroras (upper right and lower left) and the zodiacal light (lower right) are visible. (NASA/Reuters handout)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
NASA astronaut Wiseman takes a photo of Earth from one of the four main windows of the Orion spacecraft after completing a translunar jet burn on April 2 as astronauts headed to the moon. (Handout provided by NASA/Reuters)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
On April 2, as astronauts headed to the moon, NASA astronaut Wiseman peered out of the main cabin window of the Orion spacecraft and looked back at Earth. (NASA/Reuters handout)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
On April 2, as astronauts headed to the moon, NASA astronaut Koch looked out of the main cabin window of the Orion spacecraft and looked back at Earth. (Handout provided by NASA/Reuters)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
A photo of Earth taken by Wiseman from one of the four windows of the Orion spacecraft on April 2 after completing a translunar injection burn during his mission to the moon. (Handout provided by NASA/Reuters)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
