Astronauts on board NASA’s Artemis II mission have captured a dazzling new view of Earth as they speed towards the Moon on the first crewed lunar journey in more than half a century.

The breathtaking images, released 36 hours into the mission, show a curved slice of the blue planet glowing through the Orion spacecraft’s window, as well as a full view of Earth wrapped in swirling white cloud and glowing green auroras.

Commander Reid Wiseman took the photographs after a crucial engine burn sent the spacecraft hurtling towards the Moon, with the crew around 100,000 miles from Earth at the time and rapidly gaining distance.

One striking image reveals two auroras glowing at opposite edges of the planet, while faint zodiacal light is also visible.

In another, the entire globe appears almost suspended in darkness, seen from an unusual ‘upside-down’ angle with West Africa positioned to the left as viewed from the capsule.

‘It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks,’ Wiseman said, describing the view after Mission Control adjusted the spacecraft’s position so the entire Earth filled their windows.

On board the Orion capsule, named ‘Integrity’ by its crew, are NASA astronauts Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The spacecraft blasted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1 and is expected to complete a 10-day mission that will see the crew loop around the Moon before returning to Earth.

This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from of the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2

Tracker shows where Artemis II is now and how long it will take to get to the moon

After launch, Orion deployed its solar panels and entered a high Earth orbit before performing a powerful translunar injection burn to begin its journey into deep space.

Several CubeSats were also released during the early stages of the mission to carry out scientific experiments and test new technologies.

The astronauts are expected to reach the Moon on Monday, where they will swing around its far side, observing and photographing terrain rarely seen by human eyes, before heading back home for a planned Pacific Ocean splashdown.

The mission marks the first time humans have travelled to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, and represents a major step in NASA’s Artemis programme to establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface and eventually send astronauts to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman hailed the launch as a ‘defining moment’ for space exploration, as the agency looks to push further into deep space than ever before.

The mission has not been without tense moments.

Around 20 minutes after completing the key engine burn that set Orion on its course to the Moon, the crew received a warning message indicating a suspected cabin leak.

‘This grabs your attention,’ Hansen said in a live interview from space, recalling how the alert raised fears they might need to abort and return to Earth within hours.

A cabin leak is a serious risk in spaceflight, but ground teams in Houston quickly confirmed the reading was an anomaly and cabin pressure remained stable.

‘Houston helped us out. They confirmed they were seeing good cabin pressure and so were we on-board,’ Hansen said. ‘We did the burn and now we’re heading to the moon and feeling good.’

From left to right: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch

Artemis II successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday evening

The launch itself also faced minor issues, including a temporary communications glitch and a reported controller problem with the spacecraft’s toilet, though all major systems continued to function.

In the first 24 hours, the spacecraft orbited Earth while the crew carried out safety checks and rested before firing its engine for around six minutes to generate roughly 6,000 pounds of thrust and begin the journey towards the Moon.

The 10-day mission will see the astronauts complete a roughly 685,000-mile round trip, travelling as far as about 250,000 miles from Earth and pushing further into deep space than any crewed mission in decades.

At its furthest point, Orion will travel around 6,400 miles beyond the Moon before turning back towards Earth for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.