In brief
NASA's Artemis II mission is captivating audiences with breathtaking images of the Moon and Earth, but experts question their scientific significance. While the pictures attract millions of likes online, skeptics argue they may serve more as 'holiday photos' than crucial scientific data. The four astronauts on the mission are using innovative digital cameras, capturing views previously unseen by human eyes, leading to discussions on whether this mission can yield new discoveries or simply provide beautiful visuals.
NASA is releasing a steady stream of stunning pictures of the Moon and Earth taken by the astronauts on its Artemis II Moon mission.
Attracting millions of likes on social media, the images show the two bodies from unusual angles in glorious high definition.
There is no denying the drama: four astronauts are embarking on a mission that will take them further from Earth than any human has ventured since 1972.
But is there unique scientific value in these images, or are these simply the equivalent of holiday photos?
Nasa wants the American public behind them to support the mission. They are live-streaming the 10-day journey, and the four astronauts are doing regular video updates, describing their progress in triumphant tones.
The crew have been so excited to watch the world and Moon go by, Nasa has said, that the window inside the Orion spacecraft got dirty and the astronauts were sent instructions on how to clean it.
This is the first time that digital cameras have been taken this far into space. Orion has 32 cameras and devices - 15 mounted onto the spacecraft and 17 handheld by the crew.
According to Nasa, the astronauts are using standard 10-year-old cameras, including the Nikon D5, as well as GoPros and smartphones. Nasa's photostream on flickr even tells you the device used to take each of the published photos.
On Friday we saw the first results of their intense observations. Hello, World was taken by Commander Reid Wiseman when the mission was about equidistant from the Moon and Earth - 142,000 miles (228,500 km) from Earth, and 132,000 miles from the Moon. It shows two auroras as the Earth eclipses the Sun, with the planet Venus glowing at the bottom of the image.
Our planet appears upside down, with the Sahara desert and the Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.
Then on Saturday, Nasa released another photo showing the Orientale basin, a huge crater on the far side of the Moon, which has a thicker crust and many more impact craters.
Nasa said its image marked the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. Even Apollo astronauts didn't see the Orientale basin completely because of their orbit and illumination conditions.
In 1968 astronaut Bill Anders made history when he took the now-famous picture Earthrise, which made Earth look vulnerable. Nasa will be hoping that Artemis II delivers a moment of comparable resonance.
