I celebrated my golden birthday the day Neil Armstrong and crew took off to the moon on July 16, 1969. Those were exciting times for a teenage science nerd. But I think that the popularity of the 1973 opus (over 40 minutes!) “Dark Side of the Moon” brainwashed me into forgetting that the far side of the moon is not actually dark. Out of sight, out of mind!
When Artemis II took off, I thought about this for a few seconds and the lightbulb in my brain flickered back on. Every 30 days, or so,** those of us stuck here on Earth experience a New Moon—it becoming invisible by being completely shaded by the sun shining on the other side. Duh!
Here are some fun facts and statistics on Artemis II:
- Liftoff occurred on April Fool’s Day under a full moon (loonie!)
- Thrust at liftoff was 8.8 million pounds—the most powerful operational rocket (SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy V3, due for takeoff soon, will generate more than twice this thrust).
- On April 6, the crew’s distance from Earth passed 248,655 miles, the record set in 1970.
- The last time humans saw the far side of the moon was in December of 1972—over half a century ago.
- Only about 20 percent of the far side was in sunlight during the flyby.
- During their 7-hour flyby the crew saw six meteoroid impact flashes on the darkened lunar surface.
Of the more than 100 billion humans thought to have ever lived, the four astronauts aboard Artemis II have now ventured farther than any of them.
– Kenneth Chang, New York Times, reporting on 4/4/26 from Johnson Space Center in Houston
*As evidenced by this 2011 photo by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
**To be precise, 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes for one complete synodic month