HOUSTON — Four astronauts aboard Artemis II will enter the moon’s gravitational sphere late Sunday before conducting a lunar flyby on Monday, marking the first time humans travel that far from Earth since 1972, according to NASA.
The spacecraft, Orion, will come within 4,000 to 6,000 miles of the lunar surface during the flyby. The crew will pass over the far side of the moon and observe areas not previously seen directly by humans.
NASA said the moon will appear about the size of a basketball at arm’s length from the astronauts’ perspective. The agency will begin live coverage of the flyby at 11:45 a.m. Central Time, with the event expected to last up to five hours.
The crew plans to capture images and video during the flyby and will deliver remarks from the spacecraft at about 9:30 p.m. Monday via NASA’s official livestream.
During the maneuver, communication between the spacecraft and Mission Control at Johnson Space Center will be interrupted for 30 to 50 minutes as the spacecraft passes behind the moon. NASA said the crew will observe a solar eclipse during this period as the moon blocks the sun.
At approximately 12:45 p.m. Monday, the mission may surpass the distance record set by Apollo 13, which reached 248,655 miles from Earth.
The lunar flyby marks the closest approach of humans to the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972. After completing the maneuver, the spacecraft will exit the moon’s gravitational influence and begin its return trajectory to Earth.