Artemis II Crew: 'One Last Look At Earth Before We Reach the Moon'
The Artemis II crew is homing in on the Moon, gearing up for the lunar flyby on Monday, April 6. But before they get there, they paused to take one last look at home.
On Sunday, April 5 — the fourth day of their mission — the four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft captured a stunning view of Earth from inside the capsule, shared by NASA on X. The snapshot is a striking reminder of just how far they've already traveled, and how much farther they're about to go.
One last look at Earth before we reach the Moon.
— NASA (@NASA) April 5, 2026
This view of the Earth was captured on April 5, the fourth day of the Artemis II mission, from inside the Orion spacecraft. The four astronauts will reach their closest approach of the Moon tomorrow, April 6. pic.twitter.com/z2NJUGWkKc
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen make their closest approach to the Moon on Monday, passing within 4,066 miles of the lunar surface during a seven-hour observation period. At 7:05 p.m. ET, the crew will break the all-time record for farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth — surpassing the mark set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 by more than 4,100 miles.
For roughly 40 minutes during the flyby, the crew will pass behind the Moon entirely, out of contact with Mission Control and out of sight of Earth. Sunday's image is the last look at home before all of that happens.
How to Watch Monday's Lunar Flyby
NASA's live coverage runs from 1:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. ET Monday on the agency's YouTube channel. Track the spacecraft in real time at nasa.gov/trackartemis. Splashdown is scheduled for approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10, off the coast of San Diego.