NASA releases picture of Earthset shot by Artemis crew


NASA on Tuesday released a historic image of Earth dipping below the lunar horizon, a so-called "Earthset", more than 57 years after an iconic "Earthrise" image was captured by an Apollo 8 astronaut during the first human flyby of the Moon. Members of the Artemis II crew captured the image on Monday during the mission's record-setting lunar flyby.


Issued on: 07/04/2026 
By: FRANCE 24

Photographie d'un coucher de Terre prise par l'équipage d'Artémis II et publiée par la Nasa le 7 avril 2026 © Handout / NASA/AFP

It's an Earthset. The image, published on Tuesday, April 7 by NASA, was taken on Monday as the Orion capsule was orbiting the Moon. The crew is made up of Americans Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

The image recalls the legendary Apollo 8 photograph, taken on December 24, 1968 by American astronaut Bill Anders during the first human flyby of the Moon, alongside his compatriots Frank Borman and Jim Lovell.

The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday. In the meantime, scientists at Houston's Mission Control are poring over the stream of moon photos beaming down.

Apollo 8's three astronauts became the world's first lunar visitors, orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve 1968. Their Earthrise shot became a symbol of the modern-day environmental movement.

Artemis II marks NASA's first return to the moon with astronauts – a critical step toward a lunar landing by another crew in two years.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)