Artemis II On Track For Lunar Flyby

Mark Carreau Irene Klotz April 06, 2026

moon — Part of the lunar far side is visible on the left edge in this image of the Moon taken during the Artemis II mission. The dark areas in the center and right side of the disk are ancient lava flows, which are unique to the near side of the Moon. The white dot at the bottom of the disk—with white rays shooting out from it—is Tycho crater.

Credit: NASA

HOUSTON—Halfway through the first crewed flight test of NASA’s Orion deep-space capsule, the four Artemis II astronauts prepared for an intensive 6-hr. series of science observations as they swing around the Moon on April 6, gazing upon lunar far-side surface features never before seen by human eyes...

Mark Carreau

Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America's space program through news reporting.

Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

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