The preparation is paying off. The Orion spacecraft has performed well since its launch last week, and the crew looped behind the Moon on Monday, reaching their closest point to the lunar surface at a distance of 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) at 7 pm EDT (23:00 UTC). Two minutes later, Artemis II arrived at the mission\u2019s most distant point from Earth at a range of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers), setting a new record for the farthest anyone has traveled into space.<\/p>\n
Those milestones occurred as the spacecraft flew behind the Moon, as seen from Earth, with no way for mission controllers in Houston to contact the astronauts inside Integrity. <\/em>After about 40 minutes without radio contact, Artemis II reemerged from behind the Moon and restored communications with engineers in Houston.<\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n The faint glow of the solar corona is visible as a soft halo of light as the Moon eclipses the Sun, seen by the Artemis II astronauts on Monday. Venus is seen at the left side of the image.<\/p>\n Credit: Before this point in the lunar flyby, the four astronauts periodically radioed their impressions of the Moon\u2019s deep craters, mountain peaks, and volcanic markings. At the same time, they took photos and logged their observations on tablets carried inside the spacecraft. Their snappy language reflected a familiarity with lunar geology. All four astronauts, none of whom were trained geologists before Artemis II, spent time in classrooms and traveled on geology field trips to learn about the Moon ahead of their launch.<\/p>\n Then, the lights went out. The Sun disappeared behind the Moon, revealing a scene that defied description. Silhouetted against the Sun, the Moon was bathed only in \u201cEarthshine\u201d\u2014the faint, hued sunlight reflected off the continents, oceans, clouds, and ice caps that make up the Earth a quarter-million miles away.<\/p>\n From the viewpoint of Integrity, <\/em>the Moon eclipsed the Sun for nearly an hour. The alignment was pure luck based on the mission\u2019s trajectory following its launch April 1. Artemis II could have flown a slightly different path around the Moon based on when it launched, and most of the trajectories would not have allowed for an eclipse. With an April 1 launch, the eclipse became the cherry on top of the lunar sundae.<\/p>\n Glover, the pilot on Artemis II, told mission control the astronauts had trouble taking photos that did the view justice.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing, we\u2019re just not picking up on the cameras,\u201d Glover said. \u201cAfter all the amazing sights that we saw earlier, we just went sci-fi. It just looks unreal. You can see the surface of the Moon [from] the Earthshine. You can actually see a majority of the Moon. It is the strangest looking thing.\u201d<\/p>\n About 30 minutes later, Glover added: \u201cI\u2019m really glad we launched on April 1 because humans have probably not evolved to see what we\u2019re seeing. It is truly hard to describe. It is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n Artemis II pilot Victor Glover.<\/p>\n Credit: Eclipse chasers on Earth know that the Moon\u2019s passage in front of the Sun offers a rare opportunity to see the solar corona, the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere. The super-heated corona extends millions of miles into space. For the Artemis II astronauts, the corona created a halo-like effect around the perimeter of the Moon.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s glowing behind the entire Moon,\u201d Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said. \u201cI thought it would look dark against the black sky or deep space, but the Sun is lighting up the entire limb of the Moon. You can see the entire perimeter of it \u2026 You can still make out little bits of topography around the entire limb. Just bumps as you go around it.\u201d<\/p>\n Glover, 49, continued with his narration, identifying stars and planets not easily visible when the spacecraft is illuminated in sunlight.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was an absolutely spectacular, magnificent experience,\u201d Wiseman said after the end of the eclipse. \u201cHouston, if you could give me about 20 new superlatives in the mission summary for tomorrow, that would help my vocabulary out a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n The cosmic eclipse capped a remarkable day at the Moon that began with a wakeup call recorded by former astronaut Jim Lovell before his death last year. Lovell flew around the Moon twice, first on Apollo 8 in 1968, the first crew mission to see the Moon up close. He was later the commander of Apollo 13, which set the previous human spaceflight distance record in 1970. Apollo 13 zoomed around the Moon after famously aborting its lunar landing mission.<\/p>\n \u201cWelcome to my old neighborhood!\u201d <\/em>Lovell said in the prerecorded message. \u201cWhen Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity\u2019s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I\u2019m proud to pass that torch on to you\u2014as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars \u2026 for the benefit of all. It\u2019s a historic day, and I know how busy you\u2019ll be. But don\u2019t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you\u2013good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A short time later, Artemis II passed Lovell\u2019s Apollo 13 record. Jenni Gibbons, an astronaut in mission control, marked the moment with a radio call to the Orion spacecraft. Hansen responded with the crew\u2019s request to name two craters on the Moon, one for their Integrity <\/em>spaceship and the other for Wiseman\u2019s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.<\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a feature in a really neat place on the Moon, and it is on the near side-far side boundary. In fact, it\u2019s just on the near side of that boundary. So at certain times of the Moon\u2019s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth,\u201d Hansen said of Carroll Crater. \u201cIt\u2019s a bright spot on the Moon. We would like to call it Carroll.\u201d<\/p>\n It was an emotional moment for the crew, and for many watching the mission from the ground. After sharing an embrace and wiping away tears, the astronauts settled into their lunar observations. A camera inside the Orion crew cabin recorded the commemoration, seen below.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/55192173787_b8322b1190_o.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n NASA<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nThe cherry was the main event<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0328-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Stephen Clark\/Ars Technica<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nAwesome in every sense<\/h2>\n
\n