NASA Artemis 2 astronauts to make historic moon flyby today. Here's what to expect hour by hour (timeline)

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HOUSTON — NASA's first astronaut close encounter with the moon in over 50 years will become a reality today (April 6), and you'll be able to follow it live online. But you will need to know when to tune in and for how long, and for that, we've got you covered.

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 mission will fly around the moon today in a seven-hour flyby that will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT), but the crew has already captured stunning views of Earth's neighbor over the last few days. You'll be able to watch the moon flyby live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA, and follow the flyby as it happens on our Artemis 2 mission updates page.

"The four of us have looked at the moon our entire lives, and the way we are responding to what we're seeing out the window is just like we're a bunch of kids up here," Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman radioed to Mission Control late Sunday (April 5). "We cannot get enough of this. It's amazing."

A view of the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft Integrity with the moon in the background during the outbound flight for a lunar flyby. (Image credit: NASA)

Wiseman and his Artemis 2 crewmates — pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — will be the first humans to see the moon up close since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

They are the first astronauts to visit the moon in the 21st century, and they will see parts of the moon that NASA's Apollo astronauts were never able to, like the poles of the far side. They'll also see a rare solar eclipse from beyond the moon.

To help you know what to expect, here's a timeline of NASA's Artemis 2 moon flyby day, hour by hour.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyArtemis 2 moon flyby timeline

Time (in EDT/GMT)

Event

What to know

9:50 a.m. EDT / 1350 GMT

Artemis 2 crew wakes up

This begins Flight Day 6. Flyby day. NASA will play the crew a song.

1 p.m. EDT / 1700 GMT

NASA's main livestream begins

This is a special broadcast. The 24/7 feed will transition to this.

1:56 p.m. EDT / 1756 GMT

Artemis 2 surpasses Apollo 13 distance record

The Orion ship will fly farther than Apollo 13, going beyond 248,655 miles from Earth.

2:10 p.m. EDT / 1810 GMT

Artemis 2 crew comments on beating Apollo 13 record

The Artemis 2 crew will comment on their new record, but we'll get audio only.

2:15 p.m. EDT / 1815 GMT

Orion cabin configured for flyby

The astronauts will darken the cabin lights and prep cameras and other gear.

2:45 p.m. EDT / 1845 GMT

Seven-hour moon flyby observation period begins

The Artemis 2 crew will observe both near and far sides of the moon. The main phase lasts five hours.

4:35 p.m. EDT / 2035 GMT

Interior views of Orion

NASA will show inside views of Orion during the flyby.

Ongoing.

Observations continue.

The crew has 35 targets for 10 science objectives. They may see the Apollo 14 and Apollo 12 landing sites.

6:47 p.m. EDT / 2247 GMT

Loss of signal

NASA will temporarily lose contact with Artemis 2. It should last 40 minutes.

7:02 p.m. EDT / 2307 GMT

Artemis 2 closest to moon

Orion will be about 4,070 miles above the moon at closest approach.

7:05 p.m. EDT / 2305 GMT

Artemis 2 reaches its farthest point from Earth

Orion will be at its farthest from Earth, at about 252,760 miles away.

7:27 p.m. EDT / 2327 GMT

Reacquisition of signal

Mission Control should reacquire signal with Artemis 2.

8:35 p.m. EDT / 0035 GMT on April 7

Artemis 2 sees solar eclipse

The astronauts will see the moon block the sun in a total solar eclipse. It will last 53 minutes.

9:20 p.m. / 0120 GMT on April 7

Artemis 2 lunar flyby observation period ends

The flyby observing period ends. The crew begins sending some imagery to Earth.

A screenshot of the Lunar Targeting Plan application that guides the Artemis 2 astronauts through their lunar science observations. This custom software was built by the crew lunar observations team, a subset of the Artemis 2 lunar science team. (Image credit: NASA)

Kelsey Young, Artemis 2 lunar science lead, said NASA has 10 science objectives and 35 different targets for the Artemis 2 crew to aim for during the flyby.

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The astronauts will work in two-person shifts over five hours of the main flyby period. They'll use a tablet-based Lunar Targeting Plan app to record voice observations of their targets while also taking potentially thousands of photos of moon craters, plains and mountains.

"We've got a jam-packed plan for them tomorrow, and it ultimately all traces down to our objectives," Young said.

The astronauts have had several opportunities to observe the moon as they closed in on their lunar flyby. Based on their descriptions of the moon, NASA's lunar science team can't wait to hear the Artemis 2 crew's observations from today's flyby.

"They crushed it," said Jennifer Hellmann, an Artemis 2 science team lead from NASA's Ames Research Center in California. "We were excited for the flyby before, don't get me wrong. But we are, like, super, super excited now because they're so good! They're so well trained; they know what they're talking about."

Lego Lego Technic Nasa Artemis Space Launch System 42221

The only Lego Technic NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket, once built it can 'launch' thanks to the clever Technic engineering mechanisms inside. It stands 27.5-inches (70 cm) tall but is made from only 632 pieces, making this suitable for ages 9+, compared with the adult-oriented (and $260) static Lego Icons NASA Artemis Space Launch System (10341) model.

Tariq MalikEditor-in-Chief

Tariq is the award-winning Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001. He covers human spaceflight, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. He's a recipient of the 2022 Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting and the 2025 Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society. He is an Eagle Scout and Space Camp alum with journalism degrees from the USC and NYU. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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