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Artemis II astronauts capture stunning ‘Earthset’ photo

New photo recalls Apollo 8’s famous ‘Earthrise’ shot in 1968

A view of Earth
A view of Earth, partially hidden by the moon, photographed through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. ET on April 6, 2026. (NASA/Reuters) 

The Artemis II astronauts are now forever intertwined with Apollo 8.

A day after the historic lunar flyaround, NASA on Tuesday released striking photos taken by the U.S.-Canadian crew.

The four astronauts channelled Apollo 8’s famous “Earthrise” shot from 1968 with their own: “Earthset,” showing our planet setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon.

Astronaut William Anders photographed the original “Earthrise” during the Apollo 8 mission on Dec. 24, 1968.

As the first colour photo of Earth taken from space, the image is widely associated with jump-starting the global environmental movement and leading to the creation of Earth Day, an annual event promoting environmental activism and awareness, in 1970.

Earth rises over the lunar horizon
The Earth rises over the lunar horizon in an image captured during the Apollo 8 mission on Dec. 24, 1968. Popularly known as ‘Earthrise,’ the image was captured by astronaut William Anders. (NASA/Getty Images) 

Another photo captures the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective.

The moon eclipses sun, seen from space
In this image provided by NASA, which the Artemis II crew captured from lunar orbit, the moon eclipses the sun on Monday. (NASA/The Associated Press) 

The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday.

Jeremy Hansen
Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Jeremy Hansen takes photographs through the Orion spacecraft’s window during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the moon on Monday. (NASA/Reuters) 

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.

How Artemis II is setting up the next stage of space exploration 

Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, says the first two Artemis missions have set the stage for the next moon landing, a moon base and eventually, human exploration of Mars, missions so challenging that only international co-operation makes them possible.

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.

Four astronauts, all wearing eclipse-viewing glasses, smile for the camera
The Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, mission specialists Christina Koch and Hansen, commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby Monday. (NASA/The Associated Press) 

— Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

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Credit belongs to: www.cbc.ca

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