On the way to the Moon, Artemis II captures this “Moonlit Earth”: the entire night hemisphere is actually illuminated by the full moon’s reflected light.
According to NASA Earth Observatory (2026-06-04): after the crew completes the translunar injection (TLI) in Orion, they photographed the full disk of Earth through a window. At first glance it looks like it’s lit by the Sun, but it’s actually moonlight—sunlight is reflected off the Moon’s surface and then shines on Earth. From Orion’s viewpoint, Earth blocks the Sun; only a thin crescent of solar corona light remains at the lower-right edge. Near the north and south poles, green auroras can be seen, along with zodiacal light also in the lower right, as well as a bright point, Venus. Bands of city lights on the surface make the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Brazil region visible. To capture fine details in low light, the camera ISO was set to 51,200 (typically around 100–200 during the day).
Independent cross-check: NASA’s “Hello, World” caption matches the same references as the image archive entry art002e000192—taken on 2026-04-02, after Orion completed TLI, photographed through a window by the Artemis II crew. It likewise states that moonlight provides the illumination, mentions the dual auroras and zodiacal light, and notes that this is among the first Earth images transmitted from the mission.
Image: NASA / Artemis II crew (Orion); Earth Observatory map by Lauren Dauphin
Data as of: photographed 2026-04-02; NASA EO published 2026-06-04; Hello, World / image archive 2026-04-03
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