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Artemis II crew snap epic photos of the Earth from space

A picture of the Earth from space, which centres the planet against the dark background of space. It's a round blue planet. Clouds can be seen and a thin green aurora at the top.Nasa/Reid Wiseman

Hello, World

Nasa says the Artemis astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft are now more than halfway to the Moon.

The team have been flexing their photography skills and shared some incredible photographs of the Earth from their journey so far.

It's the first time humans have left Earth orbit since 1972.

The first photo, called Hello, World, has a mystical glow to it. That's actually the glow of the atmosphere as the Earth eclipses the Sun!

An image from inside of the Orion capsule, which shows a small window and part of the Earth outsideNasa/Reid Wiseman

Another pic from Artemis II called Looking Back at Earth

The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, took the images after the crew completed a final engine burn.

This took the space capsule out of Earth orbit and onto its trajectory towards the Moon.

This image is taken from one of the Orion spacecraft's four main windows

Half of the Earth NASA

This photo shows the divide between night and day, known as the terminator, cutting across Earth.

According to mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, the crew were "glued to the windows" taking pictures.

Lights twinkle in the nighttime as the Earth completely occludes the Sun in this image taken from the Orion space capsule.NASA/Reid Wiseman

The tiny glowing dot in the bottom-right corner of this photo is actually Venus!

Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again.

What do you think of the Artemis mission so far? Are you excited about the trip to the Moon?

Let us know in the comments below...