A 40-Minute Silence: The Artemis Crew's Journey Behind the Moon

Mon Apr 06 2026 17:14:59 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

As the Artemis astronauts pass behind the Moon, they will experience a 40-minute communication blackout, offering a chance for introspection and lunar exploration.

During a critical moment of their mission, the Artemis astronauts will lose contact with Earth for approximately 40 minutes as they venture behind the Moon. This period of isolation will test their resolve and give them an opportunity to focus solely on their extraordinary environment. Echoing the experiences of past missions, particularly Apollo 11, this moment represents both a technical challenge and an emotional milestone for space exploration.

No-one will have been further from home than the Artemis astronauts.

But as the Earth shrinks ever smaller in their rear-view mirror, they've had a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. The calm words from the NASA team have given the crew a comforting link with home.

That link is about to be lost.

As the astronauts pass behind the Moon at about 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) on Monday, the radio and laser signals that allow the back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.

For about 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings, travelling through the darkness of space. A profound moment of solitude and silence.

Artemis pilot Victor Glover told us he hopes the world will use the time to come together.

When we're behind the Moon, out of contact with everybody, let's take that as an opportunity, he said. Let's pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew.

More than 50 years ago, the Apollo astronauts also experienced the isolation brought by a loss of signal during their missions to the Moon.

Perhaps none more so than Apollo 11's Michael Collins, who described feeling truly alone during his 48-minute communication blackout as he orbited the Moon, separated from Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who were on the lunar surface.

The blackout during Artemis II will be a tense time for those with the job of maintaining contact with the spacecraft back on Earth. At the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, a huge antenna has been collecting signals from the Orion capsule throughout its journey.

Matt Cosby, Goonhilly's chief technology officer, noted, We're going to get slightly nervous as it goes behind the Moon, and then we'll be very excited when we see it again, because we know that they're all safe.

During this time without contact, the astronauts will focus on lunar observation, studying the Moon's geology and capturing images of its features without the distractions of communication with mission control.

As they emerge from the shadow of the Moon and contact is re-established, it will be a collective sigh of relief for the world, allowing the astronauts to share their findings and breathtaking views of the lunar landscape.