See today's timeline of NASA's Artemis 2 moon flyby day, hour by hour
NASA’s first astronaut close encounter with the moon in over 50 years will happen Monday, as four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission will fly around the moon today in a seven-hour flyby that will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT. You can watch the Moon fly by live, courtesy of NASA.
Four Artemis 2 astronauts will spend seven hours flying by the moon today, seeing lunar sights never before seen by human eyes. You can watch the Moon fly by live, courtesy of NASA.
HOUSTON — NASA’s first astronaut close encounter with the moon in over 50 years will happen Monday, as four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission will fly around the moon today in a seven-hour flyby that will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
The crew has captured incredible views of the Moon over the last few days, and you can watch the Moon fly by live, courtesy of NASA.
“The four of us have looked at the moon our entire lives, and the way we are responding to what we’re seeing out the window is just like we’re a bunch of kids up here,” said Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman. “We cannot get enough of this. It’s amazing!”
Wiseman and his Artemis 2 crewmates — pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — will be the first humans to see the moon up close since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
They are the first astronauts to visit the moon in the 21st century, and they will see parts of the moon that NASA’s Apollo astronauts never saw, such as the poles of the far side. They’ll also see a rare solar eclipse from beyond the moon.
Here’s a timeline of NASA’s Artemis 2 moon flyby day, hour by hour.
■ 10:50 a.m. EDT / 1450 GMT
Artemis 2 crew wakes up
This begins Flight Day 6. Flyby day. NASA will play the crew a song.
■ 1 p.m. EDT / 1700 GMT
NASA’s main livestream begins
This is a special broadcast. The 24/7 feed will transition to this.
■ 1:56 p.m. EDT / 1756 GMT
Artemis 2 surpasses Apollo 13 distance record
The Orion ship will fly farther than Apollo 13, going beyond 248,655 miles from Earth.
■ 2:10 p.m. EDT / 1810 GMT
Artemis 2 crew comments on beating Apollo 13 record
The Artemis 2 crew will comment on their new record, but we’ll get audio only.
■ 2:15 p.m. EDT / 1815 GMT
Orion cabin configured for flyby
The astronauts will darken the cabin lights and prep cameras and other gear.
■ 2:45 p.m. EDT / 1845 GMT
The seven-hour moon flyby observation period begins
The Artemis 2 crew will observe both the near and far sides of the moon. The main phase lasts five hours.
■ 4:35 p.m. EDT / 2035 GMT
The crew has 35 targets for 10 science objectives. They may see the Apollo 14 and Apollo 12 landing sites.
■ 6:44 p.m. EDT / 2244 GMT
Loss of signal: NASA will temporarily lose contact with Artemis 2. It should last 40 minutes.
■ 7:02 p.m. EDT / 2307 GMT
Artemis 2 is closest to the Moon
Orion will be about 4,070 miles above the moon at closest approach.
■ 7:07 p.m. EDT / 2307 GMT
Artemis 2 reaches its farthest point from Earth
Orion will be at its farthest from Earth, at about 252,760 miles away.
■ 7:25 p.m. EDT / 2325 GMT
Reacquisition of signal
Mission Control should reacquire the signal with Artemis 2.
■ 8:35 p.m. EDT / 0035 GMT on April 7
Artemis 2 sees a solar eclipse
The astronauts will see the moon block the sun in a total solar eclipse. It will last 53 minutes. They may also observe Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn.
■ 9:20 p.m. EDT / 0120 GMT on April 7
Artemis 2 lunar flyby observation period ends
The flyby observing period ends. The crew begins sending some imagery to Earth.
■ 9:32 p.m. EDT / 0132 GMT April 7
Solar eclipse period ends
The Artemis 2 crew finishes observing the sun’s corona and planets.
■ 9:45 p.m. EDT / 0145 GMT April 7
NASA’s Moon Flyby Livestream ends
NASA’s special Artemis 2 moon flyby commentary ends, but 24/7 mission coverage continues
■ 10:50 p.m. EDT / 0250 GMT April 7
Artemis 2 crew media event
The astronauts will speak to the media or officials on the flyby.
■ 2:05 a.m. EDT April 7 / 0607
Crew Sleep Begins: The Artemis 2 crew calls it a day.