NASA's Artemis II mission is set to achieve a historic milestone on Monday when its four-person crew becomes the first astronauts to view the Moon's far side with the naked eye during their lunar flyby.
The crew aboard the Orion spacecraft is expected to reach their destination where they will observe the lunar far side during what NASA has planned as approximately a six-hour flyby operation before beginning their journey back to Earth.
Historic First for Human Space Exploration
This mission represents a significant moment in space exploration, as no previous crewed mission has allowed astronauts to directly observe the Moon's far side. The far side of the Moon, sometimes called the "dark side," is the hemisphere that permanently faces away from Earth due to tidal locking.
The Artemis II mission is part of NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972. Unlike the Apollo missions, which focused on the near side of the Moon, Artemis II's trajectory will take the crew around the Moon's far side.
Mission Timeline
The flyby operation is scheduled to last approximately six hours, during which the four astronauts will have the unprecedented opportunity to observe and document the lunar far side from their position aboard the Orion spacecraft. Following this observation period, the crew will begin their return journey to Earth.
The Orion spacecraft serves as the crew vehicle for the Artemis program, designed to carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit to destinations including the Moon. This mission builds on the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, which successfully demonstrated the spacecraft's capabilities during a lunar flyby mission.
The far side of the Moon has only been observed by robotic missions and through imagery captured by various spacecraft, making the crew's direct visual observation a unique contribution to lunar science and exploration.
