Washington, April 04 (QNA) - NASA published the first images of Earth taken by astronauts aboard Artemis II as the crew travels toward the Moon.

The mission carries Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen, marking the first crewed journey toward lunar orbit since the Apollo program.

The spacecraft Orion reached the halfway point, about 219,000 km from Earth, and continues toward a planned lunar orbit in the coming days.

Launched from Florida earlier this week, the mission follows a free-return trajectory, looping around the Moon before heading back to Earth.

Artemis II is a key step toward returning humans to the lunar surface and preparing for future missions to Mars. (QNA)