Artemis II Is About To Fly Around the Far Side of the Moon
The Artemis II crew will travel farther than any human before. Here's everything you need to know about the historic moment.
time.comHere’s a concise update on Artemis II and its far-side Moon flyby.
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Artemis II has been performing a lunar flyby that takes the crew behind the far side of the Moon, temporarily cutting radio contact with Earth as part of a planned blackout period. This step aims to test deep-space systems and navigation on the way to a distant Earth return. NASA and multiple outlets have covered the mission progressing toward a return trajectory, with public updates signaling the mission staying on its original arc rather than any abort scenario. [sources: Time article on Artemis II far-side flyby; NBC/ABC coverage pieces on the far-side passage and distance records]
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Recent imagery from Artemis II included new photographs of the far side, including views of features like the Orientale basin, marking humanity’s first visual access to that hemisphere from an Orion crewed mission. NASA released these images to highlight mission milestones and the crew’s deep-space vantage point. [CBS News article on the new far-side photo; BBC News/ABC coverage noting first views of Orientale]
If you’d like, I can pull the latest specifics on:
- exact distance records achieved so far (Earth–Moon separation)
- status of the return burn and planned timeline back to Earth
- any official NASA updates or press releases from the mission timeline
Would you prefer a brief timeline or a side-by-side summary with cited sources? I can also provide a quick visual (chart) of the key milestones if you want.