IT’S HAPPENING: Artemis II Begins Its Moon Fly-By, as Four Astronauts Break the Distance Record From the Earth (VIDEOS)

Emotions ran high when the crew named a lunar crater after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife.

IT’S HAPPENING: Artemis II began its historic flyby of the moon.

This is the mission’s main event, as the crew beams back to Earth the first glimpses ever of parts of the dark side of the moon.

POV: You’re flying by the Moon.

This visualization is designed to show you what exactly the Artemis II astronauts will see outside their window during their lunar flyby.

Here, the seven-hour visualization is compressed into 28 seconds. ⬇ (1/4) pic.twitter.com/2OMAy37oht

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) April 5, 2026

“Welcome to my old neighborhood.” Our @NASAArtemis II astronauts woke up on the sixth day of their mission to a special message recorded in 2025 by astronaut Jim Lovell, the pilot of Apollo 8. pic.twitter.com/XA4Dc2yQm5

— NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026

The New York Post reported:

“The capsule began the flyby around 2:45 p.m. ET, and will spend just over six hours arcing around the moon with its windows pointed toward the far side of the lunar surface.

All four crew members will become the first people in history to see certain swaths of the far side — since most it remained in shadow when the Apollo missions orbited the moon over 50 years ago.”

LIVE: Watch with us as the Artemis II astronauts make their closest approach to the Moon, traveling farther from Earth than ever before. https://t.co/Zpy7GdTqA8

— NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026

To commemorate the Artemis II mission, the astronauts announced their suggestion to rename certain features on the Moon to honor the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, as well as commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. pic.twitter.com/ejfhnItDo8

— NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026

The Artemis II crew named a lunar crater after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. What a beautiful and touching moment.

I’m not crying, you’re crying 🤧 pic.twitter.com/3D1qgxK0jB

— Jenny Hautmann (@JennyHPhoto) April 6, 2026

The Apollo flights were close to the surface with a limited range of sight, while Artemis will stay between 4,000 and 6,000 miles from the moon, and crew will see the entirety of the far side under the full light of the sun.

“Artemis II’s astronauts will spend the flyby photographing and making in-person observations of the far side as part of their research. It will be a four-day journey home, with the capsule expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday.”

A new milestone for humankind: The crew of Artemis II are now the farthest any human has ever travelled, reaching a maximum distance of 252,752 miles from Earth.

This surpasses the previous record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 by about 4,102 miles. pic.twitter.com/DbLFvvdEfT

— NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026

“And if all goes well, astronauts will go back up for an Earth-orbiting mission in 2027 under Artemis III and then walk on the moon in 2028 for Artemis IV.”

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