Artemis II Mission: Astronauts Witness Total Solar Eclipse After Regaining Contact With Earth; NASA Shares Video

The astronauts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) spaceflight mission, Artemis II, witnessed a total solar eclipse, as no human has experienced before. Notably, before witnessing the solar eclipse, the astronauts lost contact from the control room on the Earth. for at least 40 minutes. The Artemis II astronauts witnessed the spectacular moment just a few thousand miles above the moon. NASA also shared a video of the Artemis II's Orion capsule entering the solar eclipse. "Artemis II is now entering a solar eclipse that will last for about an hour as Orion, the Moon and the Sun align. During this phase, the crew will see the Sun disappear behind a mostly darkened Moon," the space agency said in an X post along with

sharing the video.

Artemis II is now entering a solar eclipse that will last for about an hour as Orion, the Moon and the Sun align. During this phase, the crew will see the Sun disappear behind a mostly darkened Moon. pic.twitter.com/VHdY5oa7aE

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 7, 2026

"Seconds after the sun set behind the moon, you can see Earthshine,” mission pilot Victor Glover told Mission Control, as quoted by Scientific American, a science-based news outlet. The mission is crewed by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wieman is the commander of the Artemis II, while Glover is the pilot. Koch and Hansen are the mission specialists.Also Read: NASA Artemis II Moon Flyby: Check Date, Time And How To Watch Live The mission has broken the record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth. It broke the Apollo 13 mission's record of 248,655 miles. The Artemis II reached a maximum distance of 252,752 miles from Earth at 1:57 pm EDT, surpassing the Apollo 13's record in 1970 by about 4,102 miles, NASA said in a post on X.

"We will always choose each other."Mission control has reacquired signal with the Artemis II crew after the mission’s planned loss of signal. Our astronauts are once again using the Deep Space Network to keep conversation and science data flowing between space and Earth. pic.twitter.com/aagRApba1z

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 6, 2026

They kept going, hurtling ever farther from Earth. Before it was over, Artemis II beat the old record by 4,101 miles (6,600 km). "It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc83sAlZDwU

Meanwhile, the seven-hour flyby was the highlight of NASA's first return to the moon since the Apollo era. The Artemis II astronauts also sailed into their lunar flyby Monday, taking in magnificent views of the far side. It was never witnessed before.