Artemis II Lunar Flyby Schedule: What to Expect Monday and When It Happens

Monday, April 6 is the most dramatic day of NASA's Artemis II mission. The four-person crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will make their closest approach to the Moon, break a 56-year-old distance record, and spend roughly 40 minutes completely out of contact with Mission Control as their spacecraft passes behind the Moon.

Here's the full schedule of what to expect and when.

Artemis II Lunar Flyby Schedule: Full Timeline

1:00 p.m. ET — Live Coverage Begins NASA's live coverage of the lunar flyby kicks off on NASA's YouTube channel and continues through 9:45 p.m. ET. This is the best place to follow along in real time throughout the day.

1:30 p.m. ET — Crew Briefing With Mission Control NASA hosts a conversation between the crew and the science officer in Mission Control at Johnson Space Center to review objectives and the full timeline for the flyby. Because the Sun's angle on the Moon shifts about one degree every two hours, the crew couldn't know exact lighting conditions on the lunar surface until after launch — making this final briefing essential before observations begin.

2:10 p.m. ET — Crew Remarks on Distance Record The crew is expected to make remarks ahead of the milestone moment when they will surpass the farthest distance any humans have ever traveled from Earth.

2:45 p.m. ET — Seven-Hour Lunar Observation Period Begins The crew begins observing the Moon through Orion's windows, seeing both the near and far sides of the lunar surface. Because space at the windows is limited, crew members will rotate in pairs every 55 to 85 minutes — two observing while the other two exercise or work on other tasks.

6:47 p.m. ET — NASA Loses Contact With the Crew As Orion passes behind the Moon, Mission Control will temporarily lose all communication with the crew. This is expected and planned for, but it means the astronauts will spend the most historic moments of the mission completely alone, out of reach of everyone on Earth.

7:02 p.m. ET — Closest Approach to the Moon Still behind the Moon and out of contact, the crew makes their closest approach to the lunar surface — passing within 4,066 miles. At this distance, the Moon will appear roughly the size of a basketball held at arm's length. The crew may also be the first humans ever to see parts of the Moon's far side with the unaided eye.

7:05 p.m. ET — Humans Travel Farther From Earth Than Ever Before The record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 falls. Artemis II reaches a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth — 4,102 miles farther than any humans in history. It happens behind the Moon, in complete silence from Mission Control's perspective.

7:27 p.m. ET — NASA Reestablishes Contact Orion emerges from behind the Moon and communication is restored. By this point the crew has already made history. This is the moment Mission Control — and anyone watching the live stream — will be waiting for.

9:20 p.m. ET — Observation Period Ends The seven-hour lunar observation period wraps up and the crew begins transferring imagery to the ground. NASA's science team will review the images overnight and debrief with the crew the following day while the experience is still fresh.

9:45 p.m. ET — Live Coverage Ends

How to Watch NASA's full lunar flyby coverage streams live on the agency's YouTube channel from 1:00 to 9:45 p.m. ET. You can also track Orion's exact position in real time at nasa.gov/trackartemis.

Artemis II is scheduled to splashdown off the coast of San Diego at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.