Artemis II’s 41 minutes of post-lunar silence are coming up

According to NASA, from about 6:44 p.m. on April 6 (5:44 p.m. on April 7, Hanoi time), when flying behind the Moon, radio and laser signals – which allow two-way information exchange between the Orion ship and the Earth – will be blocked by the Moon itself, leading to communication disruption. For nearly an hour, the four astronauts will experience complete silence and isolation, silently traveling through the dark reaches of outer space.

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover said he hopes the world will use this time to unite. “When we are behind the Moon, losing contact with everyone, let’s see it as an opportunity: let’s pray, hope, send good thoughts and feelings so that we can reconnect,” he told BBC before the flight.

For the Artemis II crew, the disruption to Earth allowed them to devote their full attention to lunar exploration. They will focus on taking photos, researching geology, and closely observing the beauty of the celestial body.

However, on Earth, this was a stressful period for the team in charge of maintaining communication. At Goonhilly Ground Station in Cornwall, southwest England, a giant antenna is collecting signals from Orion, carefully determining its position throughout its journey and transmitting the information back to NASA headquarters.

Matt Cosby, Chief Technology Officer at Goonhilly, said: “For the first time we’re tracking the human spacecraft. We’ll be a little nervous when the spacecraft disappears behind the Moon, and then will be very happy to see it return, knowing that all is safe.”

Experts hope this communication disruption will soon be overcome in the near future, when NASA as well as other space agencies begin building bases on the Moon, promoting celestial exploration. “To establish a sustainable presence on the Moon, you need full communications 24 hours a day, including on the far side, because the far side also needs to be explored,” he said.

Programs like the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Moonlight plan to launch a network of satellites around the Moon to provide continuous and reliable communications in the future.

More than half a century ago, NASA astronaut Michael Collins of the Apollo 11 mission also experienced isolation due to loss of signal when the spacecraft passed behind the Moon, even more alone because he was not with his teammates.

In 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history by taking the first steps on the surface of the Moon, Collins stayed in the control capsule, flying around this celestial body. As the spacecraft passed over the far side of the Moon, Collins was alone when communications with two people on the lunar surface, as well as with the control center on the ground, were cut off for 48 minutes.

“At that time I was alone, truly alone, completely isolated from life. If I counted, the number of people would be three billion plus two on the other side of the Moon, and only one (plus God knows what) on this side,” he wrote in his memoir. Carrying The Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys published in 1974. This experience was then felt by only six other people.

“Outside the window, I could see the stars, that’s all. The place where I knew the Moon was was a dark space. I could only determine that the Moon was still present thanks to the absence of stars,” Collins described. He shared that, compared to the experience on Earth, being alone on a small boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the dark of night is probably the closest.

However, Collins was not afraid at all and always felt strange when the media described him as “the loneliest man in history”.

“I feel, not scared or lonely, but extremely hopeful, satisfied, confident, almost joyful. I like that feeling,” he wrote.