The Artemis II astronauts are already the champions of a fresh new era of lunar exploration. Now it's time to set a new distance record.

Launched last week on humanity's first trip to the moon since 1972, the three Americans and one Canadian are chasing after Apollo 13's maximum range from Earth. That will make them our planet's farthest emissaries as they swing around the moon without stopping on Monday and then hightail it back home.

Their roughly six-hour lunar flyby promises views of the moon's far side that were too dark or too difficult to see by the 24 Apollo astronauts who preceded them. A total solar eclipse also awaits them as the moon blocks the sun, exposing snippets of shimmering corona.

"We'll get eyes on the moon, kind of map it out and then continue to go back in force," said flight director Judd Frieling. The goal is a moon base replete with landers, rovers, drones and habitats.

A look at Artemis II's up-close and personal brush with another world—our constant companion, the moon.

Time for a check-up!

During their 10-day mission, the Artemis II crew will verify the AVATAR organ chips are working properly as they gather data on how deep space radiation and microgravity affect bone marrow cells. go.nasa.gov/3Ok9hVO

👀 Behind the scenes tour of European Space Agency's Eagle Artemis II mission control room 🌙

The Moon is special in so many ways. Scientifically, it provides opportunities we simply don't have on Earth. It's near enough to reach with robotic explorers and humans. And for all of us on Earth, it's special because it's ours. 🩶

POV: You're flying by the Moon.

This visualization is designed to show you what exactly the Artemis II astronauts will see outside their window during their lunar flyby.

Here, the seven-hour visualization is compressed into 28 seconds.

The Artemis II crew and lunar science team have been training and preparing for years to make the most of any lunar flyby, under any Moon illumination conditions.

Now that the crew is on the way to the Moon, we finally know exactly which parts of the lunar surface will be sunlit during their closest approach, and dozens of scientists are hard at work in the back rooms of Mission Control in Houston.

The science team has spent the last few days combining the spacecraft's trajectory with data from our Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, information about the motion of our solar system, and more to create tools that make it easy for humans to see the big picture.

Successful outbound trajectory burn!

This means that the Orion spacecraft fired its thrusters to further fine-tune the astronauts' path to the Moon.

Coverage of the lunar flyby tomorrow begins at 1pm ET (1700 UTC). youtube.com/live/m3kR2KK8T…

Sweet dreams, NASA Artemis II crew.

One last look at the Moon before flight day six and your epic lunar flyby, taking you farther into space than humans have EVER traveled.

🚨 Artemis II’s BIGGEST milestones are coming up. Here’s when they’ll happen:

📍1:56 PM ET (1756 UTC) Crew surpasses the Apollo 13 distance record

📍2:45 PM ET (1845 UTC) Lunar observation period begins

📍6:47 PM ET (2247 UTC) Loss of signal expected as Orion heads behind the Moon (~40 min)

📍7:02 PM ET (2302 UTC) Closest approach to the Moon

📍7:05 PM ET (2305 UTC) Orion reaches its furthest point from Earth

It is going to be HISTORIC!

The upper stage – or interim cryogenic propulsion stage – of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket separates from the Orion spacecraft after helping to deliver Orion to space on April 1, 2026, for the Artemis II mission. The upper stage was then used as a target for Orion to maneuver around in a demonstration of the spacecraft's ability to perform proximity operations.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen conducted a live question and answer session with Canadian youth and the public from across Canada.

"Welcome to my old neighborhood." Our NASA Artemis II astronauts woke up on the sixth day of their mission to a special message recorded in 2025 by astronaut Jim Lovell, the pilot of Apollo 8.