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NASA’s Artemis II mission to fly around the far side of the Moon
LIVE Updated Today, Apr 6, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC NASA’s Artemis II mission to fly around the far side of the Moon by Verge Staff Link Share RSS Gift Humans haven’t stepped foot on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Now, the space agency is racing to get back to the lunar surface under the umbrella of its Artemis program — a nod to the Greek goddess and twin sister of Apollo, whose name was given to NASA’s first program to send humans to the Moon. The program has been plagued by years of delays , development mishaps , and billions of dollars in budget overruns , but the mission is unquestionably ambitious. The goal of Artemis is to create a sustainable presence near the Moon, instead of just sending humans to plant flags and make footprints. The agency also aims to send the first woman to the Moon through the Artemis program. Artemis I successfully completed its uncrewed mission in 2022. On April 2nd, 2026, Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center carrying four astronauts in its Orion capsule. The plan is to travel around the Moon before returning to Earth in 10 days’ time. They’ll test out the hardware and systems that could soon see humans standing on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years in the Artemis IV mission scheduled for 2028. On Monday, April 6th, NASA’s livestream is broadcasting on YouTube and on Netflix as the Artemis II astronauts break the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled away from Earth, and during a planned drop in communications as Orion passes behind the Moon. Highlights The Artemis II astronauts will set a new distance record from Earth today NASA launches four astronauts toward the Moon on the Artemis II mission The Artemis Moon base project is legally dubious Today, Two hours ago Stevie Bonifield Artemis II astronauts break a record, name a crater Artemis II is capturing images of the far side of the Moon, partially visible here, which can’t be seen from Earth. Image: NASA A few minutes before 2PM ET on Monday, the crew of Artemis II broke a record set 56 years ago by the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission — at over 248,655 miles, they have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them. They marked the occasion with a crater naming ceremony that left the whole crew embracing each other in lunar orbit. The Artemis II crew proposed names for two craters on the Moon. The first they named after their spacecraft, Integrity. The second was more personal. “A number of years ago, we started this journey and our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one,” mission specialist Jeremy Hansen said during NASA’s livestream . “Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie.” Read Article > Today, 6:46 PM UTC Richard Lawler Artemis II crew sets the distance record. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have surpassed Apollo 13’s record for the greatest distance a human mission has traveled away from Earth at over 240,000 miles and counting, and they’ll continue stretching that out until about 7:07PM ET. Right now, they’re beginning to observe the Moon’s surface. NASA Flight Director Brandon Lloyd, Capsule Communicator Amy Dill, and Command and Handling Data Officer Brandon Borter also marked a lighthearted milestone today by emailing the crew what is now assumed to be the longest person-to-person message ever sent in human history. Today, 3:46 PM UTC Andrew Liszewski The Artemis II astronauts will set a new distance record from Earth today Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman looks back at Earth from one of the Orion spacecraft’s main cabin windows. Image: NASA On April 15th, 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert set a distance record when Apollo 13 traveled 248,655 miles from Earth. Nearly 56 years later, the crew of Artemis II is expected to break that record by several thousand miles when the Orion spacecraft reaches a maximum distance of 252,757 miles away from Earth later today as it completes its flight around the far side of the Moon. NASA’s coverage of the lunar flyby begins at 1PM ET today if you want to follow along at home , while the astronauts are expected to set the new distance record from Earth at 1:56PM ET. The trip around the far side of the Moon will take about six hours and include observations of the lunar surface never before seen by humans, as well as surveys to identify possible landing locations for future missions. Read Article > Today, 1:55 PM UTC Andrew J. Hawkins Today’s Artemis II lunar flyby will be livestreamed on Netflix. The streaming giant missed out on the April 1st launch of Artemis II , but will broadcast today’s historic flight around the Moon. At 1PM ET, the capsule will fly past the Moon’s far side, which always faces away from the Earth, and it will also stream on NASA’s official YouTube channel . NASA also made a deal with Netflix last year to feature some of its content. Netflix Missed the Artemis II Launch, But Will Livestream the Lunar Fl
- The program has been plagued by years of delays , development mishaps , and billions of dollars in budget overruns , but the mission is unquestionably ambitious.
- The goal of Artemis is to create a sustainable presence near the Moon, instead of just sending humans to plant flags and make footprints.
- The agency also aims to send the first woman to the Moon through the Artemis program.
- Artemis I successfully completed its uncrewed mission in 2022.
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