Will the Artemis 2 astronauts be on the dark side of the moon. If so, for how long?
Yes, the Artemis II astronauts will pass behind the far side (often called the "dark side," though it's not perpetually dark) of the Moon during their crewed lunar flyby. This is a key part of the mission's free-return trajectory, which uses the Moon's gravity to slingshot the Orion spacecraft back toward Earth without needing additional major engine burns for the return.
Mission Overview
Artemis II is a ~10-day mission (launch to splashdown) that does not involve orbiting or landing on the Moon. It is a high-speed flyby.
The crew (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) will travel on a looping, figure-8-like path that takes them around the far side before returning home.
Closest approach to the lunar surface is planned at roughly 4,000–8,000 km (about 2,500–5,000 miles), on the far side.
Time on the Far Side
The time spent behind the Moon (where direct line-of-sight communication with Earth is blocked) is relatively short:The overall lunar flyby and close observation period lasts only a couple of hours (roughly 2–3 hours of active time near the Moon, including the swing around the far side).
Communication blackout (no direct radio contact with Earth) occurs for about 45 minutes to ~1 hour while passing behind the Moon, depending on the exact trajectory.
During this brief period, the crew will photograph and observe portions of the far side, some of which humans have never seen up close before. They will also be at their farthest distance from Earth (potentially breaking the Apollo 13 record of ~248,655–250,000 miles).
The outbound trip to the Moon takes ~4 days, followed by the quick flyby, then ~4 days back to Earth. The entire "time near the Moon" phase is measured in hours, not days—the mission does not loiter or enter lunar orbit.
This profile is similar in spirit to Apollo 8 or 13 but with a more distant flyby and modern spacecraft testing objectives. The exact timing and distances can shift slightly based on the final launch date and any minor trajectory correction burns. As of the latest plans, the mission targets a launch window beginning April 1, 2026.
There is a dark side of the moon though. It's whatever side the sun is not currently illuminating. That's only the same side as the far side sometimes.
Neither the Hubble Space Telescope nor the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be used to track or observe the Artemis II spacecraft during its mission.
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble orbits Earth at about 320 miles (515 km) altitude—well within low Earth orbit (LEO). Artemis II will quickly move beyond LEO into a high Earth orbit and then on a trajectory around the Moon, reaching distances over 200,000 miles (320,000 km) from Earth. At such distances, Hubble is not equipped or tasked to track spacecraft like Orion. Its instruments are designed for deep-space astronomy, not close-up tracking of human-made objects.
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb operates from Lagrange Point 2 (L2), nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million km) from Earth. From this vantage point, it cannot safely point toward Earth or the Moon—doing so would risk exposing its sensitive instruments to bright light and heat, violating its solar avoidance constraints. Therefore, Webb cannot observe Artemis II at any phase of the mission. Brave
Will the Artemis 2 astronauts be on the dark side of the moon. If so, for how long?
Yes, the Artemis II astronauts will pass behind the far side (often called the "dark side," though it's not perpetually dark) of the Moon during their crewed lunar flyby. This is a key part of the mission's free-return trajectory, which uses the Moon's gravity to slingshot the Orion spacecraft back toward Earth without needing additional major engine burns for the return.
Mission Overview
Artemis II is a ~10-day mission (launch to splashdown) that does not involve orbiting or landing on the Moon. It is a high-speed flyby.
The crew (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) will travel on a looping, figure-8-like path that takes them around the far side before returning home.
Closest approach to the lunar surface is planned at roughly 4,000–8,000 km (about 2,500–5,000 miles), on the far side.
Time on the Far Side
The time spent behind the Moon (where direct line-of-sight communication with Earth is blocked) is relatively short:The overall lunar flyby and close observation period lasts only a couple of hours (roughly 2–3 hours of active time near the Moon, including the swing around the far side).
Communication blackout (no direct radio contact with Earth) occurs for about 45 minutes to ~1 hour while passing behind the Moon, depending on the exact trajectory.
During this brief period, the crew will photograph and observe portions of the far side, some of which humans have never seen up close before. They will also be at their farthest distance from Earth (potentially breaking the Apollo 13 record of ~248,655–250,000 miles).
The outbound trip to the Moon takes ~4 days, followed by the quick flyby, then ~4 days back to Earth. The entire "time near the Moon" phase is measured in hours, not days—the mission does not loiter or enter lunar orbit.
This profile is similar in spirit to Apollo 8 or 13 but with a more distant flyby and modern spacecraft testing objectives. The exact timing and distances can shift slightly based on the final launch date and any minor trajectory correction burns. As of the latest plans, the mission targets a launch window beginning April 1, 2026.
-- Grok
There is a far side. Not a dark side.
Pink Floyd would like a word with you...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon
I turned to look, and it was gone...now I feel comfortably numb.. 😎
There is no dark side of the moon. As a matter of fact, it’s all dark.
The Far Side = one of the best comics ever! Gary Larson is a national treasure
There is a dark side of the moon though. It's whatever side the sun is not currently illuminating. That's only the same side as the far side sometimes.
Yeah I’m just combating the common misconception that there is a perpetual dark side.
If they are going to the dark side of the moon they are going to spy on the Chinese that are already there mining Helium3.
Neither the Hubble Space Telescope nor the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be used to track or observe the Artemis II spacecraft during its mission.
Hubble Space Telescope Hubble orbits Earth at about 320 miles (515 km) altitude—well within low Earth orbit (LEO). Artemis II will quickly move beyond LEO into a high Earth orbit and then on a trajectory around the Moon, reaching distances over 200,000 miles (320,000 km) from Earth. At such distances, Hubble is not equipped or tasked to track spacecraft like Orion. Its instruments are designed for deep-space astronomy, not close-up tracking of human-made objects.
James Webb Space Telescope Webb operates from Lagrange Point 2 (L2), nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million km) from Earth. From this vantage point, it cannot safely point toward Earth or the Moon—doing so would risk exposing its sensitive instruments to bright light and heat, violating its solar avoidance constraints. Therefore, Webb cannot observe Artemis II at any phase of the mission. Brave
What is this new trend where people just copy and paste what AI says?
Incredibly depressing to see that being done here of all places. Its so intellectually lazy.