The story behind the beautiful pictures beamed back to Earth from the Artemis II astronauts.

Earlier this year, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman explained why the astronauts would be taking smartphones with them into space. He wrote on X: "We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world.

On their way around the Moon, the Artemis II crew had time to snap some terrific pictures of our blue planet. NASA has begun sharing the images, including the one above, which shows a striking view of Earth through the Orion capsule's window.

After traveling deeper into space than any other humans, the Artemis II astronauts pointed their moonship toward home Monday night, wrapping up a lunar cruise that revealed views of the far side never beheld by eyes until now.