WATCH: Chilling Video Shows Just How Close the Artemis II Crew Got to the Moon

· Yahoo News
  • Elon Musk shared exterior video footage of NASA's Artemis II spacecraft passing close to the Moon, captured by cameras mounted on the outside of the Orion spacecraft.
  • The Artemis II crew, consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, made their closest approach to the Moon at 4,066 miles from the lunar surface, breaking the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.
  • The crew, out of contact with Mission Control for roughly 40 minutes, is now preparing to head back to Earth after the Artemis II mission launched on April 1 and is set to splashdown off the coast of San Diego on April 10.

Elon Musk shared exterior video footage Monday night on X of NASA's Artemis II spacecraft during its closest approach to the lunar surface, captioning the clip "NASA Artemis passing close to the Moon." The footage, captured by cameras mounted on the outside of the Orion spacecraft, shows the Moon filling the frame in a staggering way.

Update on the Artemis II Crew

The Artemis II crew — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — made their closest approach to the Moon at 7:02 p.m. ET Monday, passing within 4,066 miles of the lunar surface. It is the closest humans have been to the Moon since the final Apollo missions more than 50 years ago.

Three minutes later, at 7:05 p.m. ET, the crew broke the all-time record for farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth, surpassing the mark set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 by more than 4,100 miles. Both milestones happened while the crew was completely out of contact with Mission Control, passing behind the Moon with no communication with Earth for roughly 40 minutes.

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The crew is now gearing up to head back to Earth.

The clip Musk shared captures something that no human has seen from this vantage point in over half a century. NASA's Artemis II mission launched April 1 and is scheduled to splashdown off the coast of San Diego at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.