Artemis astronauts ready for Moon flyby on fifth day of historic mission

## Summary
Artemis astronauts ready for Moon flyby on fifth day of historic mission Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon. PHOTO: REUTERS Published Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM Updated Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM HOUSTON – The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission prepared on April 5 to enter the Moon’s “sphere of influence”, having already taken in sights of the lunar surface never before seen by human eyes. The next major milestone is expected overnight on April 5 into April 6 , at which point the astronauts will enter the “lunar sphere of influence”, where the Moon’s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. “We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Dr Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, told reporters April 5 . “Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.” For the period of the flyby, which will last for several hours, the Artemis II crew will observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board. “I think it’s important to remember that, you know, we don’t always know exactly what they’re going to see,” Dr Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, told a press conference on April 5 . Systems tests NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon.

## Article Content
Artemis astronauts ready for Moon flyby on fifth day of historic mission
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While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Published
Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM
Updated
Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM
HOUSTON – The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis
II
mission prepared on April
5
to enter the Moon’s “sphere of influence”, having already
taken
in
sights of the lunar surface
never before seen by human eyes.
As they awoke for day five of the 10-day mission, their Orion spaceship was nearly 346,000km from Earth and
104,600km
from the Moon, according to NASA’s online dashboard.
Former astronaut Charlie Duke, who walked on the Moon in 1972 as part of the Apollo 16 mission, gave the ceremonial wake-up call to the crew.
“Below you on the Moon is a photo of my family. I pray it reminds you that we in America and all of the world are cheering you on. Thanks to you and the whole team on the ground for building on our Apollo legacy with Artemis,” said the 90-year-old.
Earlier, in the wee hours of April
5
, the US space agency published an image taken by the Artemis crew, showing a distant Moon with the Orientale basin visible.
“This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes,” NASA said. The massive crater, which resembles a bullseye, had been photographed before by orbiting cameras.
The next major milestone is expected overnight on April
5
into April
6
, at which point the astronauts will enter the “lunar sphere of influence”, where the Moon’s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.
“We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,”
Dr
Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, told reporters April
5
.
“Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.”
For the period of the flyby, which will last for several hours, the Artemis II crew will observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board.
“I think it’s important to remember that, you know, we don’t always know exactly what they’re going to see,”
Dr
Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, told a press conference on April
5
.
If all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the Moon, the astronauts – Americans Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen – could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
Systems tests
NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon.
At the same time, “we’re focussing very much on the ecosystem, the life support system of the spacecraft,” NASA chief Jared Isaacman said April
5
in a televised interview with CNN.
“This is the first time astronauts have ever flown on this spacecraft before. That’s what we’re most interested in getting data from,” he added.
On day five, the astronauts were testing their “survival” suits, according to NASA.
The bright orange suits are worn during takeoff and re-entry, but also emergency situations, such as cabin depressurisation.
The crew “will conduct a full sequence of suit operations, including putting on and pressurising their suits, performing leak checks, simulating seat entry, and assessing mobility and their ability to eat and drink”, NASA said.
While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon.
Over the next day, “they will be on the far side of the Moon, they will eclipse that record, and we’re going to learn an awful lot about the spacecraft”, said Mr Isaacman.
The information will be “pretty paramount to set up for subsequent missions like Artemis 3 in 2027 and, of course, the lunar landing itself on Artemis 4 in 2028”.
AFP
More on this topic
Artemis astronauts more than halfway to Moon, putting Earth in rear view
58 tortillas, five hot sauces and one toilet: Life aboard Artemis II mission’s Orion capsule
See more on
Nasa
Moon
Space and cosmos

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- The next major milestone is expected overnight on April 5 into April 6 , at which point the astronauts will enter the “lunar sphere of influence”, where the Moon’s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. “We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Dr Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, told reporters April 5 . “Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.” For the period of the flyby, which will last for several hours, the Artemis II crew will observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board. “I think it’s important to remember that, you know, we don’t always know exactly what they’re going to see,” Dr Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, told a press conference on April 5 .

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- Artemis astronauts ready for Moon flyby on fifth day of historic mission Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon.
- PHOTO: REUTERS Published Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM Updated Apr 06, 2026, 08:31 AM HOUSTON – The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission prepared on April 5 to enter the Moon’s “sphere of influence”, having already taken in sights of the lunar surface never before seen by human eyes.
- The next major milestone is expected overnight on April 5 into April 6 , at which point the astronauts will enter the “lunar sphere of influence”, where the Moon’s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. “We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Dr Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, told reporters April 5 . “Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.” For the period of the flyby, which will last for several hours, the Artemis II crew will observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board. “I think it’s important to remember that, you know, we don’t always know exactly what they’re going to see,” Dr Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, told a press conference on April 5 .
- If all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the Moon, the astronauts – Americans Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen – could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers moon, artemis, astronauts topics. Notable strengths include discussion of moon. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 752.