The crew of the Artemis 2 mission shared the first images from their journey to the Moon. The astronauts captured images of the Earth (and, of course, its satellite), as well as each other
On the evening of Friday, April 3, at 19:49 US East Coast time (April 4 at 02:49 Moscow time), the Orion spacecraftsuccessfully completed an acceleration maneuver to enter the trajectory to the Moon. On Monday, April 6, the crew will conduct a six-hour observation session of the lunar surface. In total, the Artemis-2 mission, launched on April 2, will last 10 days - Orion will fly around the Moon and return to Earth. The astronauts will not land on the satellite: their task is to test the ship's systems and make sure that everything works properly in deep space conditions. The crew has already shared the first images of the Earth and the Moon taken from Orion, and also showed how days pass on the spacecraft. Meduza shows these footage.
NASA / AFP / Scanpix / LETA NASA astronaut Christina Koch (left) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen (right) aboard Orion. On April 3, they and their two colleagues on the Artemis mission passed halfway between the Earth and the Moon. “You are now closer to the Moon than to us on Earth,” Mission Control told them around 11 p.m. East Coast time. NASA / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Photo of the Moon taken by the crew of Artemis 2, the first US manned mission to the Moon since 1972
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NASA / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Part of Orion, filmed by a camera mounted on one of the ship's solar panels, on the second day of the mission NASA The crew of the Artemis 2 mission, from left to right: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission commander Reed Wiseman, astronauts Christina Koch and Victor Glover during a video conference on April 2, 2026 NASA Astronauts Victor Glover (NASA), Jeremy Hansen (CSA) and Reed Wiseman (NASA) aboard Orion. The in-flight photographs were taken using several Nikon D5 cameras - they are resistant to radiation in space conditions NASA / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Screenshot from NASA live broadcast video. Jeremy Hansen at lunch and Christina Koch at work during the midway pass between the Earth and the Moon on April 3 Reid Wiseman / NASA / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA Earth photographed by Reid Wiseman NASA / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Part of Orion against the background of the Moon. The photo was taken with a camera mounted on one of the ship's solar panels. NASA Screenshot from NASA video broadcast. The mission launched at 18:35 on April 1, US East Coast time (01:35 on April 2, Moscow time). The SRB (Solid Rocket Boosters) side boosters separated from the spacecraft two minutes after launch, the SLS (Space Launch System) main stage separated about eight minutes later. Bill Ingalls / NASA / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA Launch of the Orion rocket from the Florida launch site
