Earth & Moon

NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft captured photos of Earth and the Moon in visible and thermal infrared light on July 3. The images were taken 363,250 miles from Earth and 115,600 miles from the Moon. The visible light image shows the two bodies as crescents, while the thermal infrared image reveals the Earth's heat from its atmosphere and surface.

The ESCAPADE mission used its Visible and Infrared Observation System cameras to capture the images, which serve as a calibration check for the spacecraft's cameras. The mission aims to study the interaction between the solar wind and the Martian environment, and how it drives atmospheric loss at Mars.

The ESCAPADE spacecraft are currently in a 'loiter' orbit around Lagrange point 2 and will fly by Earth in November 2026 to slingshot their way to Mars, arriving in September 2027.