NASA’s ESCAPADE Snaps Family Portrait of Earth, Moon

On July 3, one of NASA’s two Mars-destined ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft captured photos of Earth and the Moon in visible and thermal infrared light. At the time, the spacecraft was 363,250 miles (584,600 kilometers) from Earth and 115,600 miles (186,100 kilometers) from the Moon, making the Moon appear relatively large. Taken with the Sun only partly illuminating Earth and the Moon, the visible light image shows the two bodies as crescents, with only around 8% of each face sunlit.

Yet in the thermal infrared image, the shadowed hemisphere of Earth is illuminated by its own heat from both the atmosphere and surface, glowing at minus 10 to minus 44 degrees Fahrenheit (250 to 280 kelvins). Without the insulating blankets of oceans and atmospheres, the Moon’s far side remains at a much cooler minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (100 kelvins). visible light thermal infrared light Caption: In these images from NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, Earth (left) and Moon (right) can be seen.

The image to the left of the slider shows visible light reflected by the Sun while the infrared image to the right shows the bodies’ emitted energy. White rings have been added in the thermal image to show the actual size of Earth and the Moon. Credit: NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint In these images from NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, Earth (left) and Moon (right) can be seen.

The image to the left of the slider shows visible light reflected by the Sun while the infrared image to the right shows the bodies’ emitted energy. White rings have been added in the thermal image to show the actual size of Earth and the Moon. NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint visible light thermal infrared light Caption: In these images from NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, Earth (left) and Moon (right) can be seen.

The image to the left of the slider shows visible light reflected by the Sun while the infrared image to the right shows the bodies’ emitted energy. White rings have been added in the thermal image to show the actual size of Earth and the Moon. Credit: NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint In these images from NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, Earth (left) and Moon (right) can be seen.

The image to the left of the slider shows visible light reflected by the Sun while the infrared image to the right shows the bodies’ emitted energy. White rings have been added in the thermal image to show the actual size of Earth and the Moon. NASA/UCB-SSL/NAU-Radiant/Lucint visible light thermal infrared light ESCAPADE Photos of Earth and Moon July 3, 2026 Curtain Toggle 2-Up Image Details In these images from NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, Earth (left) and Moon (right) can be seen.