One photo of Earth, taken Thursday by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from the Orion window, shows the planet backlit, with auroras visible at the top right and bottom left, Lakiesha Hawkins, deputy director for NASA’s Artemis program, said Friday during a news conference.

Despite problems during the unpiloted Artemis I reentry, the Artemis II crew is confident their heat shield will protect them during a fiery descent to Earth.

Live coverage of Artemis 2's splashdown begins this evening as four astronauts return from their historic 10-day mission around the moon.

Artemis II’s journey back to Earth will likely trigger a “sonic boom” so strong that it could end up rattling windows in parts of Southern California, according to officials. The gumdrop-shaped Orion spacecraft is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday night — bringing a dramatic end to humanity’s first voyage to the moon in more than half a century.

NASA spokesperson Lauren Low told PolitiFact that one of the reasons Earth appears duller is because the new photo was taken at night, with only moonlight lighting the planet. The 1972 photo was taken in direct sunlight. The two images were also processed differently, she said.

The realizations on social media align with what researchers have long known about Earth's composition.

Spacecraft structural analyst Dylan Dickstein analyzes Artemis II’s return to Earth after a historic trip around the moon on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

A 48-foot asteroid will pass Earth on April 12, 2026, at a safe distance of 4 million miles, posing no threat while offering insights for space research.