'Spectacular' new Artemis II images shut down Flat Earth theory for good
As of this morning (4 April), the Artemis II mission is more than halfway to the Moon.
Making them the first humans since 1972 to leave Earth Orbit, the four astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US, on Wednesday and will reach the lunar sphere of influence tomorrow.
And as they make their way to loop round the far side of the Moon and back, NASA have released new ‘spectacular’ images taken by the Artemis II crew of their view of Earth.
Taken by commander Reid Wiseman, the snaps pretty much shut down the Flat Earth theory for good – you know, just in case we needed any more evidence.
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One image, titled Hello, World, shows our planet as most of us believe it to be: essentially, a big, imperfect, spherical ball.
You can see the vast expanse of blue of the Atlantic Ocean, with a bright glow in some of the atmosphere as the Earth eclipses the Sun. White tendrils of cloud can also be seen swirling across parts of the planet.
And, if you look, really closely, you can see the glowing green auroras at the North and South Poles.
All of this glowing light is curved, not in straight lines, further proving the Earth is, well, not flat.
Another image, titled Artemis II Looking Back at Earth, sees a slice of the planet (curved) peeking through one of the Orion capsule’s windows.
Users took to X to say the photo ‘clearly shows EARTH is NOT FLAT’.
“Artemis II just sent back a picture of Earth… and flat-earthers are currently rebooting their reality,” another put.
A third wrote: “Full curvature of Earth is clearly and NOT FLAT.”
As a fourth simply put: “Well, once again, it appears that the flat earth folks are really wrong. Thanks, Artemis II.”
The amazing photos were taken after the crew (also made up of NASA’s Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Candian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen) successfully completed a trans-lunar injection burn in the early hours of yesterday morning.
It took the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and the crew were ‘glued to the windows’ according to mission specialist Hansen as they began snapping images of the amazing view.
“We are getting a beautiful view of the dark side of the Earth, lit by the Moon,” he told mission control in Houston.
And as they’d all gotten so excited doing so, Wiseman ended up asking how to clean the windows as they’d ended up a bit dirty.
Using the incredible new photos, NASA was able to take a side-by-side comparison of the view of Earth between Artemis II and Apollo 17 back in 1972.
"We've come so far in the last 54 years, but one thing hasn't changed: our home looks gorgeous from space!" it wrote.
The crew should reach their destination on Monday as they swing around the Moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head back home without stopping.
Artemis II timeline: When will the crew reach the Moon?
After completing the translunar injection burn, the Artemis II crew have broken free of Earth’s gravity and are now on course for the Moon.
They are set to travel 250,000 miles from Earth, further than any human has ever gone before.
But what are the key milestones over the next few days, and what should we look out for back on Earth?
Friday 3 April - Saturday 4 April
While the rest of us are enjoying a four-day weekend, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be hard at work prepping for their Moon fly-by.
They’ll be testing radio communications, and most importantly for us, taking lots of pictures out of the window of their spacecraft.
So expect some stunning photographs of the Earth and the Moon in deep space.
Sunday 5 April
As Brits tuck into their Easter Sunday roast dinners, it’s an important day for the Artemis II crew.
This is when they’ll enter the lunar sphere of influence, which means the tug of the Moon’s gravity is stronger than Earth’s.
The crew will also be testing their spacesuits to make sure they’re in tip-top shape for re-entry next week.
Monday 6 April
This is the big one! The Artemis II crew will pass around the far side of the Moon, the furthest from Earth anyone has ever gone before.
Commonly dubbed the dark side of the Moon - it isn’t actually dark and actually gets more sunlight than the side we do see.
It’s called this because, thanks to something called tidal locking, the same side of the Moon is always facing Earth, so we never get to see the other one.
The Artemis II crew will spend the day taking photographs of the lunar landscape, and there will be 40 mins where they will lose contact with Earth - which is sure to be squeaky bum time for the folks at NASA.
Tuesday 7 April - Thursday 9 April
As we grudgingly head back to work, the astronauts begin their return journey to Earth.
Tuesday is the Artemis II crew’s day off after a full-on few days - though you have to imagine entertainment is scarce in the Orion spacecraft. No Netflix, unfortunately.
On Wednesday, the crew will practice building a radiation shelter, which would be able to shield them in the event of solar flares, test compression garments which should prevent dizziness on the return to Earth, and have a go at manually piloting the spacecraft.
Friday 10 April
The Artemis II crew will be back on Earth in time for the weekend. This is the diciest section of the mission, with the Orion spacecraft exposed to temperatures of up to 1,650°C.
Once safely back in Earth’s atmosphere, parachutes will deploy and they’ll land in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, where NASA and the US Navy will be ready to pick them up.
Jess Battison