Artemis II lunar flyby: how and when to watch

NASA's Artemis II will perform a crewed lunar flyby on April 6, with live coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET that will stream on multiple platforms including Netflix and NASA+.

NASA's Artemis II mission will make a crewed lunar flyby on Monday, April 6. The mission launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft. This is the Artemis program's first crewed mission and the first human journey around the Moon since 1972. NASA is providing extended live coverage so global audiences can follow the event in real time. Key details: - Livestream start: NASA's official broadcast window begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 6 and is expected to continue for much of the day. - Crew and spacecraft: The Orion spacecraft carries NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. - Flyby profile: Orion will swing around the Moon's far side without entering orbit and use lunar gravity to return toward Earth. - Distance record: At its peak, the crew will surpass the Apollo 13 distance record and reach more than 252,700 miles from Earth, as reported by NASA. - Visuals and communications: The broadcast will include real-time views from Orion and commentary from mission controllers; a planned 40-minute communications blackout will occur while the spacecraft passes behind the Moon. - Platforms: The live feed is available on Netflix (carrying NASA's official feed) and on NASA+, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Hulu, HBO Max, and Roku. Summary: The flyby will set a new distance milestone for crewed missions and will be shown live with onboard views and mission commentary. Communications will be temporarily cut for about 40 minutes as Orion crosses the Moon's far side. The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean later this week as the mission returns toward Earth.