Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one — booster ignition, and liftoff. It has been just six days since that Wednesday, April 1, 2026, when at 6:35 p.m. local time, from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral the Orion capsule blasted off on the most eagerly anticipated mission in years, Artemis II. A test flight that represents a crucial step for man’s long-term return to the Moon, even with a view to future missions to Mars. And which is already a success.
Because Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen have definitely broken the record for the longest space flight by humans ever. It happened Monday, when Orion crossed the 248,655-mile mark from Earth, then broke the record for the distance traveled by a human crew in space, previously set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.
What a great story, right? Yeah, but the most interesting thing, besides the records and scientific advances, are the images that have allowed people from home to experience the historic moments in progress with the crew. Not only through the video stream that NASA has punctually turned on these days, and is continuing to do, but also with the wonderful photos that were taken during the flight. Kind of like each of us does when we set off on a plane trip and look out the window. Here, try to imagine if instead of the usual view in the sky, in front of you was a rare solar eclipse in space. Not bad, right?
It may be that everything often seems bigger than it is, but to see the rare glimpses of the Moon and Earth, with perspective from space, everything seems smaller and infinitesimal. Just as small as a Nutella jar flying in weightlessness during the fly-by, which immediately went viral in the past few hours. Or like the friendship bracelet worn by Commander Wiseman, who sends hearts from space. Videos, photos, emotions perceptible even from down here, from far away. May we dream once again of the Moon. Or we dream of flying to the universe and beyond.
[📸 © NASA]
