Artemis II astronauts channel Apollo 8 with a striking Earthset photo

HOUSTON (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts are now forever linked to Apollo 8.

A day after the historic flyby of the Moon, NASA on Tuesday released striking photos taken by the American-Canadian crew.

The four astronauts channeled the famous 1968 Apollo 8 Earthrise photo with their own: Earthset, showing our planet resting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. Another photo shows the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective.

The three Americans and one Canadian are now heading home, with a landing in the Pacific planned for Friday.

The three Apollo 8 astronauts became the world’s first lunar visitors, orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968. Their Earthrise shot became a symbol of the modern environmental movement.

Artemis II marks NASA’s first return to the Moon with astronauts – a crucial step toward another crew landing in two years.

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