Peeking at the Earth

Crescent Earthset on the Lunar Limb NASA Artemis II Mission Landscape OrientationMoments before the Orion spacecraft slipped behind the Moon and lost all contact with home, the Artemis II crew captured this view of a crescent Earth sinking toward the lunar horizon. The curved boundary where the Moon meets the blackness of space — the lunar limb — frames our planet against the void.On Earth's sunlit side, cloud patterns swirl over Australia and Oceania, while the rest of the globe has already turned to night. In the foreground, Ohm crater dominates the landscape with its terraced walls and flat floor punctuated by central peaks — remnants of the violent rebound that followed the original impact billions of years ago.Credits: NASA (art002e009286)See Also: - A Setting Earth - The Edge of Two Worlds - Artemis II Collection