Posted on 04/06/2026 4:30:24 PM PDT by Libloather
Artemis II began its historic flyby of the moon Monday in what is the mission’s showstopper event — giving its crew and Earthlings back home their first glimpses ever of parts of the lunar dark side.
The capsule began the flyby around 2:45 p.m. ET, and will spend just over six hours arcing around the moon with its windows pointed toward the far side of the lunar surface.
All four crew members will become the first people in history to see certain swaths of the far side — since most it remained in shadow when the Apollo missions orbited the moon over 50 years ago.
The Apollo flights were also so close to the surface that their range of sight was limited.
But Artemis II’s flyby is different — the capsule will stay between 4,000 and 6,000 miles from the lunar surface, which will allow the crew to see the entirety of the far side under the full light of the sun.
The moon will appear about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length to the crew looking out the Orion capsule’s windows.
It was also about three to four times larger than Earth as the flyby began, the crew reported.
Artemis II’s astronauts will spend the flyby photographing and making in-person observations of the far side as part of their research.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Nikon cameras but no Kodachrome
Yep, that sure is dark.
Except they are not going into lunar orbit. They are doing a fly-by.
Did the dam break open many years too soon?
They were all wiped out by the Nazis who arrived on the lunar surface in 1945.
I just hope they snapped a picture during the flyby of the American flag planted on the moon many decades ago!
There is no permanent “dark side” of the Moon. The Moon does have day and night, just like Earth — every part of it receives sunlight. What is true is that the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, so we always see the same face. That’s why people often (incorrectly) call the far side the “dark side.”
Yeah, but that geezer’s cruisin’ for a bruisin’!
Whatever they are doing it sure isn’t what I thought we would be accomplishing in the future world of 2026, if you had asked me in 1970.
The ChiComs missions were not manned, thus nothing was seen directly with the human eye.
Looks dark. Matter of fact, it’s all dark.
No kidding.
The flerfers have been saying it since blast off.
“””I just hope they snapped a picture during the flyby of the American flag planted on the moon many decades ago!”””
Heck, there are still golf balls we left there on the surface.
Be careful out there -
Intelligent alien life is out there — and its technology could destroy us in a microsecond, researchers claim
...supposedly there are lots of structures on the dark side...built there by friendly aliens who are making sure we don’t kill ourselves through needless wars...what a joke.
Aren’t the astronauts going to take pictures through very strong telescopic lenses so they can resolve the surface of the “dark side”...that would help to clear the mud off the “alien structures on the moon” meme.
Man, I knew I shanked that one on the seventh hole but…..
No but the band I’m in has started playing different tunes.
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