Celebrate Earth Day with this Artemis 2 shot photo of the day for April 22, 2026

This is an image of Earth captured in space. — This image of Earth was captured by the Artemis 2 astronauts on their mission around the moon and back in April 2026. (Image credit: NASA)

Happy Earth Day!

What is it?

On April 1, 2026, four astronauts launched on Artemis 2, the first crewed mission to the moon since NASA's final Apollo mission took place over 50 years ago, in December 1972.

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In this photograph snapped by the Artemis 2 crew, affectionately titled "Hello, World," we can see our home planet out in space from the window of the Orion capsule "Integrity."

Why is it incredible?

In sending astronauts on a trip around the moon, Artemis 2 also delivered some incredible new photographs of our home planet.

This particular image is especially interesting, as it was captured just after the crew completed their translunar injection burn, which sent Integrity on course toward the moon. So as the astronauts made their way into the great beyond, they took a moment to look back at their home as it got smaller and smaller in the distance.

Chelsea Gohd served as a Senior Writer for Space.com from 2018 to 2022 before returning in 2026, covering everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a M.S. in Biology, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including NASA JPL, the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her online @chelsea.gohd and @foxanne.music

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