NASA's Artemis II mission continues to make history. On Monday, the crew completed a seven-hour lunar flyby, marking the first time humans have returned to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972. During the mission, the crew captured images of the Moon’s far side.
Following the lunar observation period, the crew held a live conversation with US President Donald Trump as part of NASA’s ongoing coverage. They also spoke with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and responded to questions submitted via social media.
The day’s events began at 1:56 p.m. EDT, when NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, reached a record-breaking distance from Earth. The crew surpassed the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles, setting a new milestone for human spaceflight.
During a planned 40-minute loss of signal as the Orion spacecraft passed behind the Moon, the crew made their closest approach at approximately 7:00 p.m., flying about 4,067 miles above the lunar surface. Two minutes later, the spacecraft reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, establishing a new record.
While flying over the Moon’s far side, the astronauts documented terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface formations such as cracks and ridges. They also observed variations in color, brightness, and texture, providing data that may assist scientists in analyzing the Moon’s composition and history.
The crew observed an “Earthset" as Earth moved below the lunar horizon while Orion traveled behind the Moon, followed by an “Earthrise" as the spacecraft emerged on the opposite side.
At the conclusion of the observation period, the crew witnessed a solar eclipse lasting nearly one hour, during which the Moon, spacecraft, and Sun aligned. The astronauts observed the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, as it appeared around the edge of the Moon.
During the eclipse, the crew reported six flashes of light on the Moon’s surface, attributed to meteoroid impacts traveling at high speeds. These observations are expected to contribute to further scientific analysis.
NASA scientists are preparing to review images, audio, and additional data transmitted from the spacecraft following the flyby. The information will be used to better determine the timing and locations of the observed flashes, and researchers may seek input from amateur observers who monitored the Moon during the same period.
The crew is scheduled to discuss their findings with the lunar science team on Tuesday, April 7, in a conversation that will be broadcast as part of NASA’s live coverage.