Artemis II makes its Closest Approach to the Moon
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The Earth about to set down the lunar horizon as seen from NASA's official livestream of Artemis II's lunar flyby
The crew of Artemis II has now achieved the furthest distance away from Earth during their flyby of the Moon, breaking the record previously held by Apollo 13 in April 1970!
On Monday, 6 April 2026 (roughly about 23:00 UTC) the Orion spacecraft passed by the lunar surface at a distance of 6,500 km while they are approximately 407,000 km away from Earth. A communications blackout occurred just as expected, as the Earth set over the lunar horizon, lasting over 40 minutes as they begin their journey back to Earth. During their lunar observations, the crew named a crater on the Far Side of the Moon after the late wife of Commander Reid Wiseman, Carroll
While on their way, the crew of Artemis II are even greeted by the pre-recorded messages of two Apollo astronauts, Charlie Duke and Jim Lovell respectively. Lovell recorded his message shortly before his death in August 2025.
All Artemis missions are available for download as add-ons for Celestia HERE
Official NASA Livestream of the Lunar Flyby
Images from the Lunar Flyby