Here’s how astronauts will experience today’s historic lunar flyby. By Elisha Sauers on April 6, 2026.
From the windows of the Orion spacecraft, the Artemis II astronauts will witness Earth appearing as a bright blue orb against a gray foreground, reflecting sunlight that turns it into a luminous beacon in the blackness of space. As the spacecraft moves around the moon, this beacon will gradually disappear, creating a slow-motion Earthset, different from a sunset, encompassing the entire planet. During this moment, Earth will vanish from view, replaced by a silent, airless lunar world.
During the close lunar flyby, the mission’s climax, astronauts will lose contact with Earth for over 40 minutes while experiencing Earthset, a solar eclipse, and Earthrise in a single arc. When radio contact lapses, the crew on the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, will keep working, capturing images and data. Astronauts will experience a unique solar eclipse, unlike the earthly view but valuable for studying the moon without glare. When Earth appears again as Earthrise, this will echo the Apollo 8 scene and signify NASA’s return to lunar space after 50 years. The mission’s plush mascot celebrates this moment. If communications are restored as planned, aspects of this sequence will be shared almost in real-time by ground observers.
By day’s end, the spacecraft will begin its journey back home, aiming for a splashdown off California.