Artemis II astronauts recreate iconic 'Earthrise' photo

By Mike O'Connor | 8 April 2026

NASA astronauts on the Artemis II mission have recreated the iconic "Earthrise" photo, as originally captured during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 by astronaut Bill Anders.

Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. Nikon D5 | Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR | 400mm | F8.0 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 400
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. Nikon D5 | Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR | 400mm | F8.0 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 400

The scene shows Earth appearing to “set” beyond the lunar horizon, a visual counterpart to the classic Earthrise photograph.

The photo was released by NASA this week and also shared by the White House, which described it as a rare view from the far side of the Moon.

The four astronauts on board Artemis II — Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen — captured the moment as their spacecraft looped around the Moon.

The team have been sharing a wealth of amazing imagery from the expedition, including never-before-seen eclipse photos. 

"Earthrise" often appears in selections of the most iconic images, and was included in 2003 in Life magazine's book entitled 100 Photographs That Changed the World.

You can see a great interview with Anders, who died in 2024, here.