Updated on: April 3, 2026 / 8:33 PM EDT / CBS News
The Artemis II crew — commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — spent a low-key Friday watching Earth recede, catching up with family and rehearsing plans to observe the lunar far side when Orion passes behind the moon on Monday. Their scheduled training also included practice of basic medical responses, such as chest compressions and clearing blocked airways, to prepare the crew for possible emergencies while far from Earth.
Flight controllers canceled a planned outbound trajectory correction after telemetry showed Orion was essentially on course. For viewers on Earth, the standout moments were the dramatic photos Wiseman shot shortly after a rocket firing that boosted the spacecraft toward the moon. One long-exposure image captured a nearly full Earth hanging in space, with northern Africa, the Strait of Gibraltar, the green coastline of Brazil and auroral curtains near the poles visible. Another picture framed the blue-and-white planet through an Orion cockpit window.
A camera mounted on one of Orion’s solar wings later provided a live view of the moon dead ahead — a small gray sphere against black — prompting Wiseman to radio mission control that waking up and seeing the full moon ahead left no doubt about their destination and conveyed the crew’s appreciation for the work on the ground.
NASA footage also showed the crew sharing a midday meal and Victor Glover wiping down after a workout. After public affairs temporarily stopped streaming Glover’s exercise video, mission control said it would update the crew preferences sheet; Wiseman indicated the crew had no strong preference either way.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen are the first humans to travel toward the moon since the final Apollo mission in December 1972. On Monday they are expected to break the distance record set by Apollo 13 — 248,655 miles — as Orion approaches and then flies over the lunar far side. The scheduled far-side pass begins at 6:47 p.m. EDT, when the spacecraft will disappear from Earth’s line of sight and remain out of contact for roughly 40 minutes. Around 7:05 p.m., Orion will be within approximately 4,000 miles of the lunar surface; to the crew, the moon will appear about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.
Scientists say human visual observations complement instrument data, and Koch has stressed that the crew will make the most of every minute looking at the far side. The trajectory provides a rare opportunity for people to see some lunar features firsthand, which can be valuable for follow-up analysis.
About 40 minutes after reemerging from behind the moon, Orion will reestablish contact with Earth and begin its return trajectory, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego on April 10.