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NASA unveiled the first-ever photo of Earth from the far side of the moon after a flyby Tuesday, taken by the Artemis II astronauts that President Donald Trump hailed in a phone call as “modern-day pioneers.”
The historic image, taken for the very first time by human beings from this exact perspective, was compared by NASA to the iconic “Earthrise” photo taken by astronaut Bill Anders from the Apollo 8 mission nearly 60 years ago.
NASA dubbed the photo “Earthset,” as a callback to the 1968 photo.
“Humanity, from the other side,” The White House wrote in a post sharing the photo on X. “First photo from the far side of the Moon. Captured from Orion as Earth dips beyond the lunar horizon.”
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Trump took a call with the astronauts on the Artemis II mission late Monday, saying: “Today you’ve made history and made all of America really proud. Incredibly proud.”
“Humans have really never seen anything quite like what you’re doing in a manned spacecraft. It’s really special,” Trump added. “I want to personally salute and congratulate Commander Reid Weissman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.“
NASA reported that the Earthset photo was captured through the window of the Orion spacecraft around 7 p.m. ET on Monday during a flyby of the moon, without giving any of the four Artemis II crew members specific photographer’s credit.
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NASA described the view from the photo as a “muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface.”
“The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime,” NASA wrote. “On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.”
The Orion holds 32 cameras, according to NASA. Fifteen cameras are fixed to the spacecraft, and 17 are handheld by crew members.
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Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch remarked upon the beauty of the Earth from the crew’s unique vantage point, calling it “special.”
“The thing that changed for me, looking back at Earth, was that I found myself noticing not only the beauty of the Earth, but how much blackness there was around it and how it just made it even more special,” Koch recalled.
The Artemis II astronauts begin their journey back to Earth Tuesday, with the crew expected to travel a total of 695,081 miles total from launch to splashdown. Their mission is projected to be over 4,000 miles further from the Earth than Apollo 13.
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The Artemis II capsule is projected to make its West Coast splashdown early Friday evening off the coast near San Diego.
“Your mission paves the way for America’s return to the lunar surface very soon,” Trump told the Artemis II crew.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Landon Mion contributed to this reporting.
