This could be dangerous to the astronauts on board Artemis 2. Therefore, Artemis 2's Orion will instead enter Earth's atmosphere at a steeper angle than originally planned, in order to reduce the time spent moving through the atmosphere at high velocity and temperature, and hopefully reducing the chances of damage.

Over the past eight days, the world has watched four intrepid explorers leave Earth, fly around the Moon, and make spaceflight history. The moments of reverence, camaraderie, and bravery we’ve witnessed since the launch of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission have done wonders for my faith in humanity, but sadly, all good things must come to an end.

One photo of Earth, taken Thursday by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from the Orion window, shows the planet backlit, with auroras visible at the top right and bottom left, Lakiesha Hawkins, deputy director for NASA’s Artemis program, said Friday during a news conference.

NASA spokesperson Lauren Low told PolitiFact that one of the reasons Earth appears duller is because the new photo was taken at night, with only moonlight lighting the planet. The 1972 photo was taken in direct sunlight. The two images were also processed differently, she said.

"The location and time of our Artemis II splashdown are dynamic as mission milestones are reached," a NASA spokesperson said.

NASA's Artemis II mission shared its first image of Earth from space as astronauts prepare for a historic journey to the moon.

The Artemis II crew is on its way back home to Earth. Here's how to watch the splashdown this week.

"Hello, World." The post Moon Astronaut Captures Shot of Earth That Lets You See Its Thin Atmosphere Perfectly appeared first on Futurism.

NASA has an online tracker for Artemis II available on desktop and as a mobile app, which allows users to see where the Orion spacecraft is, how fast it's traveling, and how many miles it is in real time from both the Earth and the moon during its 10-day mission toward and around the moon, according to NASA.