NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft captures Earth and Moon in visible and thermal infrared

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, consisting of two spacecraft headed to Mars, has captured a unique portrait of Earth and the Moon using both visible and thermal infrared light. The images were taken on July 3, 2026, when one of the spacecraft was 363,250 miles from Earth and 115,600 miles from the Moon. In the visible light image, only about 8% of each body is illuminated by the Sun, showing them as crescents. The thermal infrared image reveals Earth glowing with its own heat, ranging from minus 10 to minus 44 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Moon’s far side remains much colder at minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

The images were taken using the Visible and Infrared Observation System cameras provided by Northern Arizona University. These cameras are designed to search for visible Martian aurora and study thermal properties of the Martian surface and atmosphere. According to Rob Lillis, the mission’s principal investigator at the University of California, Berkeley, imaging Earth and the Moon serves as an important calibration check for the cameras since these targets are well understood.

The ESCAPADE spacecraft, built by Rocket Lab, are currently in a loiter orbit around Lagrange point 2, about a million miles from Earth. In November 2026, they will perform a flyby of Earth to use its gravity for a slingshot maneuver toward Mars. Arrival at Mars is expected in September 2027, where the spacecraft will study how solar wind interacts with the Martian environment and drives atmospheric loss.

The mission is funded by NASA’s Heliophysics Division and is part of the Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. It is led by UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners including Rocket Lab, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space, and Blue Origin.