{ "id": 5633, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5633/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Simulating the Artemis II Lunar Flyby on April 6, 2026", "description": "This visualization simulates what the crew of Artemis II will see out the window on the day of their closest approach to the Moon on April 6, 2026. It covers the period of their scheduled science observations that begins at 18:45 UTC and spans seven hours, flying the virtual camera on the actual post-TLI trajectory that swings the spacecraft around the Moon's far side.", "release_date": "2026-04-06T10:30:00-04:00", "update_date": "2026-04-06T11:20:59.118912-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202937, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/unlabeled_preview.jpg", "filename": "unlabeled_preview.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The virtual camera in this visualization follows the post-TLI trajectory of the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, showing what astronauts see out the window as they approach the Moon and fly around its far side.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 }, "main_video": { "id": 1202936, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/mission_720p30.mp4", "filename": "mission_720p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "The virtual camera in this visualization follows the post-TLI trajectory of the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, showing what astronauts see out the window as they approach the Moon and fly around its far side.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_credits": {}, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 380038, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5633/#media_group_380038", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The virtual camera in this visualization follows the post-TLI trajectory of the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, showing what astronauts see out the window as they approach the Moon and fly around its far side.", "items": [ { "id": 519972, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202936, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/mission_720p30.mp4", "filename": 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approach the Moon and fly around its far side.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 519970, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202934, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/mission_2160p1.mp4", "filename": "mission_2160p1.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "The virtual camera in this visualization follows the post-TLI trajectory of the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, showing what astronauts see out the window as they approach the Moon and fly around its far side.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 519974, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": "", "instance": { "id": 1202938, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/frames/3840x2160_16x9_30p/unlabeled/", "filename": "unlabeled", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "The virtual camera in this visualization follows 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"description": "This visualization simulates what the crew of Artemis II will see out the window on the day of their closest approach to the Moon on April 6, 2026. It flies the virtual camera on the actual post-TLI trajectory around the Moon's far side over nearly eight hours beginning at 18:00 UTC, covering the entire period of the crew's scheduled science observations that start 45 minutes later. This simulated view was used by the Artemis II Lunar Science Team to create the observation plan that was uploaded to the spacecraft on the morning of April 5.\r\n\r\nThe Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, will carry four astronauts to within 6545 kilometers (4067 statute miles, 3534 nautical 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).\r\n\r\nAt 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 at PC is roughly equivalent to a basketball held at arm's length. At their farthest point from Earth, the crew will be 406,740 kilometers (252,737 miles) above the Earth's surface, surpassing a record held for 56 years by Apollo 13 at 400,073 kilometers (248,647 miles). And they will be traveling hundreds of times farther than anyone has gone since Apollo 17 more than half a century ago.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "svs", "funding_sources": [], "credits": [ { "role": "Visualizer", "people": [ { "name": "Ernie Wright", "employer": "USRA" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Artemis Program (Human Spaceflight — Moon to Mars) (Artemis)" ], "series": [], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [ { "name": "JPL DE421", "common_name": "DE421", "platform": null, "sensor": null, "type": "Ephemeris", "organizations": [ "NASA/JPL" ], "description": "Planetary ephemerides", "credit": "", "url": "http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?ephemerides#planets", "date_range": "" }, { "name": "Natural Color Hapke Normalized WAC Mosaic", "common_name": "LROC WAC Color Mosaic", "platform": "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter", "sensor": "LRO Camera", "type": "Mosaic", "organizations": [ "Arizona State University" ], "description": "This natural-color global mosaic is based on the 'Hapke normalized' mosaic from LRO's wide-angle camera. The data has been gamma corrected, white balanced, and range adjusted to more closely match human vision.", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": "" }, { "name": "Digital Elevation Map", "common_name": "DEM", "platform": "LRO", "sensor": "LOLA", "type": "Other", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": "" } ], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Planets & Moons" ], "keywords": [], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 5610, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5610/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Nominal (reference) Artemis II mission trajectory", "description": "Artemis II will launch four astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit, then send them on a loop around the Moon before returning safely to Earth. The mission follows a free-return trajectory that uses the gravity of the Earth and Moon to naturally guide the crew home. This visualization shows a nominal trajectory for Artemis II. The actual trajectory may vary slightly depending on the final launch timing.", "release_date": "2026-01-27T17:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-02-12T14:26:10.466301-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1201623, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005610/artemis2_full.00800_preview.jpg", "filename": "artemis2_full.00800_preview.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Nominal trajectory of NASA’s Artemis II mission, from Earth orbit around the Moon and back to Earth. The view starts close to Earth. A red dot and trail appears representing the path of Artemis II, which extends out in the direction of the Moon, before looping back and returning to Earth.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 5535, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5535/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "What Apollo Saw in Sunlight While in Orbit", "description": "A map showing the sunlit parts of the lunar surface that the Apollo astronauts could see from orbit. The darkened parts of the map were either never in sunlight or were beyond the horizon of the spacecraft.", "release_date": "2025-08-15T09:05:00-04:00", "update_date": "2026-01-16T14:29:24.219833-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1157291, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005535/apollo_saw.jpg", "filename": "apollo_saw.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A map of the Moon showing the sunlit parts of the lunar surface that the Apollo astronauts could see from orbit.", "width": 2048, "height": 1024, "pixels": 2097152 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }