Artemis II astronauts near the Moon have lost contact with Earth
The astronauts on the Artemis II mission aboard the Orion spacecraft temporarily lost contact with Earth while flying near the far side of the Moon, but before that, they sent an emotional message to humanity.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced this on X and CNN.
According to him, the crew reached their maximum distance from Earth—over 252,000 miles—setting a new historic record for human spaceflight.
“Artemis II has reached its maximum distance from Earth. On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have traveled farther from Earth than any human in history, and are now beginning their journey home,” Isaacman noted.
The temporary loss of communication occurred because the Moon is blocking the signal—this is an expected phase of the mission while flying behind its far side.
Before disappearing from radar, the astronauts addressed people on Earth:
“To all of you down on Earth and around the Earth—we love you from the Moon.”
Mission specialist Christina Koch also delivered a joint message from the crew:
“We will explore, we will build, we will build ships. We will return to space. We will build scientific outposts. We will drive rovers. We will do radio astronomy. We will start companies. We will build up industry. We will inspire!” she said.
Subsequently, communication with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston was restored, and the astronauts were welcomed back online.
As a reminder, the Orion spacecraft with four astronauts on board officially crossed the boundary of the Moon’s gravitational sphere.
The Artemis II mission crew has traveled halfway to the Moon and sent the first photos of Earth from deep space. This is the first human flight beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972.
