Simulated Artemis II Lunar Flyby

This visualization simulates what the crew of Artemis II might see out the window on the day of their closest approach to the Moon. It compresses 36 hours into a little more than a minute as it flies the virtual camera on a realistic trajectory that swings the spacecraft around the Moon's far side. This sample trajectory is timed so that the far side is fully illuminated when the astronauts fly by, but other lighting conditions are possible depending on when Artemis II actually launches. As of this writing, the launch is scheduled for no later than April of 2026.

The Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts is expected to reach a minimum altitude of about 6900 kilometers (4300 miles) above the surface of the Moon at the time of closest approach, known as pericynthion or PC. On this kind of trajectory, the Moon's gravity is used to bend the path of the spacecraft around the Moon's far side and then back toward the Earth. Apollo 13 followed a similar path to bring it home safely after an explosion damaged their spacecraft, although their PC altitude was only 251 kilometers (156 miles).

At their much higher altitude, the Artemis II crew will be able to see the entire disk of the Moon throughout their flyby. The virtual camera's short focal length approximates this view, which is roughly equivalent to a basketball held at arm's length. Depending on the Earth-Moon distance when they arrive, the Artemis II crew may achieve the farthest human distance from the surface of the Earth, a record currently held by Apollo 13 at 400,073 kilometers (248,647 miles). But they will undoubtedly be traveling almost 300 times farther than anyone has gone since the days of Apollo more than 50 years ago.