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NASA’s Artemis II mission has provided a rare and emotional look at Earth from space. Commander Reid Wiseman shared stunning footage from April 6 showing an “Earthset” during a lunar flyby, in which the Earth slowly disappeared behind the moon.
NASA Artemis 2: The Earth slowly disappears behind the moon
The video shows a powerful space scene. The rough and cratered surface of the moon appears in the foreground, while the Earth looks like a glowing blue and white ball in the distance. As the spacecraft moved forward, the Earth gradually shrunk into a thin crescent of light before disappearing completely behind the edge of the moon, called the lunar limb.
This rare moment occurred as the Artemis II crew traveled across the far side of the moon. From this region, the Moon blocks the view of Earth, creating a dramatic visual effect in which the planet appears to disappear. Later, the Earth re-emerged as the spacecraft continued its orbit, giving astronauts a reverse view of the “Earth rising.”
Only one chance in this life…
As if I was watching the sunset on the beach from the strangest perch in the cosmos, I couldn’t resist a cell phone video from Earthset. You can hear the shutter release on the Nikon @Astro_Christina hammers on 3-shot brackets and captures them… pic.twitter.com/8aWnaFJ69c
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 19, 2026
NASA Artemis 2: Wiseman calls it a once-in-a-lifetime experience
Reid Wiseman described the moment as deeply personal and unforgettable. He said: “Only one chance in this life… Like watching the sunset on the beach from the strangest perch in the cosmos, I couldn’t resist a cell phone video of Earthset.”
He added that the experience felt like watching a sunset from the most unknown place in the universe. Wiseman also noted that the spacecraft reached its greatest distance from Earth, about 252,756 miles, setting a new record for manned spaceflight distance.
NASA Artemis 2: How astronauts captured the moment?
Inside the Orion spacecraft, astronaut Christina Koch took high-resolution images with a 400 mm lens and 3-shot exposure series. Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen watched the view through nearby windows while Wiseman recorded the scene with an iPhone.
He explained: “I could barely see the moon through the docking window, but the iPhone was the perfect size to capture the view… this is uncropped, uncropped with 8x zoom, which is quite comparable to the view of the human eye.”
NASA Artemis 2: Rare event last observed during the Apollo era
Such “earth sinking” images are extremely rare and were last observed during NASA’s Apollo missions over five decades ago. The Artemis II crew also experienced a reverse “Earthrise” and even witnessed a solar eclipse from space.
NASA’s Artemis II mission continues to provide valuable insights into space travel and future lunar exploration as part of the Artemis program, bringing humanity closer to long-term missions beyond Earth.
