On April 15th, the Artemis II crew will set a new distance record from Earth, breaking Apollo 13’s 1970 mark by several thousand miles. As Orion travels around the Moon, it will pass behind our satellite for about an hour, losing communication with mission control.

This will be the farthest humans have ever ventured into space since the lunar missions. During their flyby, astronauts will observe the lunar surface and identify potential landing sites for future missions, including attempting to capture a new 'Earthrise' moment.

For 6 hours, they'll orbit the Moon, experiencing a solar eclipse from their vantage point before re-emerging into view on Earth. With the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System and traditional radio-based communication, mission control will maintain contact but lose it briefly.

The crew's journey around the Moon is part of NASA’s Artemis program, aiming to return humans to the lunar surface by 2025. After their historic flyby, they'll spend four days returning to Earth, with a splashdown targeted for April 10th in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.