Artemis II crew is awake and ready for their lunar flyby
The Artemis II mission crew is awake and preparing for today's historic lunar flyby.
NASA reported the crew wake-up at around 10:35 a.m. ET.
CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen shaves after waking up on the Orion spacecraft, April 6, 2026.
NASA
“Morning routine: Wake up, shave, make the bed, witness something that's never before been seen by human eyes," NASA said. "The Artemis II crew is preparing for today's lunar flyby, when they will see the Moon's far side.”
The interior of the Orion spacecraft, April 6, 2026.
NASA
The lunar flyby is scheduled to commence at 2:45 p.m. ET today, according to NASA.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Apr 05, 2026, 8:44 PM EDT
Key milestones expected during lunar flyby
On Monday afternoon, the Artemis II crew is expected to surpass the distance record set during Apollo 13, traveling farther from Earth than any humans before them.
Later that evening, Orion will reach its maximum distance of 252,760 miles away, 4,105 miles farther than Apollo 13.
NASA has released a timeline of key moments during the flyby, as the world watches this next chapter of human spaceflight unfold.
NASA has released a timeline of key moments during the lunar flyby, as the world watches this next chapter of human spaceflight unfold.
NASA
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Apr 05, 2026, 8:32 PM EDT
Orion holding 'pinpoint trajectory' toward moon, NASA says
The Artemis II mission is now less than a day away from entering the pivotal lunar flyby part of the journey.
After days of travel, NASA leaders provided an update on Artemis II’s progress, along with new insight into what astronauts will be observing on the moon and beyond during Monday’s lunar flyby.
According to NASA flight director Rick Henfling, Orion is on an exceptionally precise trajectory toward the moon, which led to the cancellation of its first two planned course-correction burns.
This artist’s concept depicts the nominal trajectory for NASA’s Artemis II test flight, an approximately 10-day mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and back.
Goddard/JSC/NASA
“We found that Orion was on such a pinpoint trajectory that we didn't need to do the first two correction maneuvers,” Henfling said during Sunday’s news conference.
A third adjustment is still scheduled for Sunday at 11:03 p.m. ET. It is expected to be a brief, 14-second firing designed to keep the spacecraft perfectly aligned ahead of the flyby.
Just hours later, around 12:40 a.m. ET Monday, Orion will officially cross over into the lunar sphere of influence. This is the point where the moon’s gravity takes over from Earth’s. From there, the crew will begin a carefully choreographed sequence of observations as they pass by the lunar surface.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Apr 05, 2026, 4:51 PM EDT
Artemis II astronauts practice donning, removing space suits
Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr., Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are now donning their Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suits and beginning their operational demo.
The crew will practicing donning and removing the suits quickly in the event of a depressurization emergency within the spacecraft.
Crewmembers Christina Koch, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; Reid Wiseman, commander; and Reid Wiseman, commander; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; are shown on the Artemis II mission on flight day 3.
NASA
The demo affords an opportunity to see the Artemis II crew wearing their spacesuits as they travel ever closer to the moon ahead of Monday's lunar flyby.
