<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images on Friday, one and a half days into the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/artemis-ii-launch-nasa-astronauts-first-lunar-trip-in-half-a-century/07b8ff09-07b8-4f32-b7de-661e581f1966" rel="" target="" title="first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century."><span>first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-april-4-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/d8326628-ad7f-4e35-b570-e1e468179734"><strong><span>Trump loses support of key European ally</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds. A green aurora even glows, according to NASA.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“It’s great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image," said NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins, an exploration systems leader. She added the mission was going well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As of late Friday afternoon, Wiseman and his crew were more than 180,000 kilometres from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 240,000 kilometres to go. They should reach their destination on Monday.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/artemis-iis-moonbound-astronauts-capture-earth-photos/758d9c27-dcaa-4654-b429-e2ecf227e391" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/daylight-savings-2026-when-does-it-end-australia-what-to-do-clocks-april-explainer/557ba184-b801-488a-8ded-d2e063cf3e21"><strong><span>Millions of Aussies will get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They fired Orion's main engine on Thursday night that set them on their course.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After Mission Control shifted the position of their capsule, the entire Earth complete with northern lights filled their windows.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/usa-fighter-jet-crashes-iran-crew-rescued-middle-east-latest-news/f1c5de12-f34a-4fcb-84de-c483127c234d"><strong><span>Crew member missing after US fighter plane crashes over Iran</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks,” Wiseman said in a TV interview.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They're the first lunar travelers since Apollo 17 in 1972.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-tom-forrest-lives-in-wyndham/351c812e-bb34-48b6-8530-178f350bdace" rel="" target="" title=" Tom bought a plane to fly to his nearest major supermarket"><strong><span> Tom bought a plane to fly to his nearest major supermarket</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div>