A brief communications blackout during a critical phase of the mission highlights both the challenges and milestones of humanity’s return to deep space exploration.
Astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission temporarily lost contact with earth while performing a flyby of the moon, as their spacecraft passed through a communications blackout zone on the far side. The interruption occurred at the point when the crew reached their closest approach to the lunar surface.
During the mission, the spacecraft also set a new record for the greatest distance travelled by a crewed vehicle from earth, reaching 406,700 kilometres — surpassing the previous record established in 1970.
Launched on April 1 as part of the Artemis II mission, the spacecraft is carrying four astronauts on a ten-day journey around the moon and back. The mission is primarily a test flight aimed at assessing onboard systems and equipment intended for future deep space expeditions, including a planned crewed lunar landing in 2028.
The crew consists of three NASA astronauts — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch — alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
NASA’s earlier Apollo programme, conducted between 1962 and 1972, saw nine missions sent to the moon, with six successfully landing astronauts on its surface. The programme was suspended after 1972 and later formally ended, marking a long pause in crewed lunar exploration now set to be revisited under Artemis.
