Weather 
Well-rounded.
A new image from the Artemis II Orion spacecraft, currently en route home from its journey to the Moon, reveals Earth for what it is: a glorious sphere.
This is news because an alarming number of our fellow human beings subscribe to the belief that the Earth is actually flat and that a shadowy world government is secretly tricking the public into believing in a globe-shaped planet.
It would seem that the image, taken by Commander Reid Wiseman and titled simply “Hello, World,“ serves as indisputable evidence of what the sane have long believed and science has long maintained.
The picture is an updated version of the iconic “Blue Marble” shot snapped by the Apollo 17 crew more than 50 years ago.
“We’ve come so far in the last 54 years, but one thing that hasn’t changed: Our home looks gorgeous from space!” NASA wrote in an X thread sharing the unmistakable image of our home planet next to its 1972 counterpart.
The photo shows mostly blue ocean, but the landmass of northern Africa, including the Strait of Gibraltar and parts of southern Spain and Portugal, can be made out on the left side of the globe.
Critically, the image shows the glowing curved green auroras at the North and South Poles, further illustrating that the Earth is many a splendid thing but definitely not flat.
Another image, titled “Artemis II Looking Back at Earth,” shows a curved slice of the planet serving face through one of the Orion capsule’s windows.
X users were quick to note that the images incontestably prove that the Flat Earth theory is false.
“Absolutely gorgeous. This puts to rest the flat Earth theory,” said one
“Artemis II just sent back a picture of Earth… and flat-earthers are currently rebooting their reality,” said another.
A third wrote: “Well, once again, it appears that the flat earth folks are really wrong. Thanks, Artemis II.”
On Reddit, one commentator joked, “Hey, I can see the flat earthers from here.”
Despite this chorus, it is unlikely that the images will convert any Flat Earther, as the conspiracy theorists believe that all knowledge of astronomy is part of the elaborate hoax and that NASA, in particular, is in on the space scam.
Case in point, one true believer remarked on the new image, “Looks flat to me, it just looks a little round because they are using a fishy eye lens.”
Ay Dios mio.
A 2022 survey of US residents, conducted by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, found that 10 percent of respondents believed “NASA faked the Moon landings.”
Similarly, many believe the Artemis II mission is another cog in the wheel of a staged space program.
Reacting to a live interview of the Orion crew discussing their journey to the moon, while a plush toy named Rise floated around the capsule as a sign of zero gravity, folks were fired up.
“Pure green screen bulls–t. Same exact fabric they use on movie sets. Artemis? Fake as hell. They never went up there. Whole thing’s a staged circus and we’re the idiots paying for it. Truth’s buried under layers of CGI and lies. Wake up, man,” an X user added.
The rise of the internet and social media has allowed false conspiracies like the flat-Earth theory to flourish.
In 2020, a man died after launching himself into the air using a homemade rocket in a bid to prove the Earth was flat.
In a more successful launch, the Artemis II mission has seen humans propelled further into space than ever before, and although the Orion spacecraft will not make a lunar landing, the mission is laying the groundwork for a return to the moon by astronauts in 2028.
Orion’s mission was able to break Apollo 13’s record by using the same trick of orbital mechanics to get back home: after whizzing around the moon on Monday, the capsule will use the lunar gravity and its momentum to fling itself home without needing to fire its thrusters beyond small trajectory corrections.
The capsule will leave the moon’s gravitational sphere of influence on Tuesday afternoon and will be pulled home by Earth’s gravity from there.
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean is expected off San Francisco at 8:07 p.m. Friday.
And if all goes well, astronauts will go back up for an Earth-orbiting mission in 2027 under Artemis III and then walk on the moon in 2028 for Artemis IV.
