Artemis II astronauts are flying past the moon’s far side, observing and photographing it before returning to Earth.

With Artemis II’s historic mission to the moon capturing the nation’s attention, some may be wondering why the far side of the moon remains hidden from view – even as it rotates.

The Artemis II crew flew farther from Earth than any humans in history as they passed behind the far side of the moon on Monday night.

It’s the sound of silence. Tonight, the moon-bound astronauts and NASA mission control will face a nail-biting moment this evening when the Artemis II enters a deep-space dead zone that cuts them off from Earth for around an hour.

NASA's Artemis II astronauts swung around the moon in their Orion spacecraft on Monday, coming within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface.

The Artemis II astronauts have now ventured farther from Earth than anyone else in the history of humanity. At 1:56 p.m. Eastern time, their distance from Earth passed 248,655 miles, the record that had been set by Apollo 13 in 1970. For the next few hours, they will travel farther, reaching a distance of 252,752 miles.

April 7, 2026. En route to a rare crewed flyby over the perpetually shadowed far side of the moon, the crew of the Ar

In an interview with NBC News from space, the crew of NASA's Artemis II moon mission described seeing the moon from a new angle, feelings of awe and humility, and taking care of their human needs.