United States sent astronauts towards the Moon for the first time in over 53 years. On Wednesday, four astronauts from the US space agency NASA began this historic journey aboard the Orion capsule from the Kennedy Space Centre, marking the start of the Artemis II mission.
Humans last travelled to the Moon in 1972. Following NASA’s Apollo 17 mission, this is the first time humans have set off for the Moon again. The mission is viewed as a significant step in the long-term plan to send humans to both the Moon and Mars.
Throughout their journey, even as Earth shrinks to a small blue dot in the rear-view mirror, they have enjoyed a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. Those calm voices from NASA have provided a comforting link to home, reports BBC.
But soon, that link will break.
On Monday at around 23:47 BST, as the astronauts pass behind the Moon, the radio and laser signals that enable two-way communication with Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.
For about 40 minutes, the four crew members will be completely alone – each left with their own thoughts and feelings, traveling through the dark void of space. It will be a profound moment of solitude and silence.
Artemis pilot Victor Glover hopes the world will use that time to come together.
“When we’re behind the Moon, out of contact with everybody, let’s take that as an opportunity,” he told BBC News before the mission. “Let’s pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew.”
More than 50 years ago, Apollo astronauts also experienced the isolation of a lost signal during their lunar missions.
Perhaps none more so than Apollo 11’s Michael Collins.
In 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history by taking the first steps on the Moon’s surface, Collins remained alone in the command module, orbiting above. As his craft passed behind the far side, contact with both the lunar surface crew and mission control vanished for 48 minutes.
In his 1974 memoir Carrying the Fire, he wrote that he felt “truly alone” and “isolated from any known life” – yet he felt no fear or loneliness. In later interviews, he described the peace and tranquility brought by the radio silence, calling it a welcome break from mission control’s constant requests.
Back on Earth, the blackout will be a tense time for those whose job is to maintain contact with the spacecraft.
At the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, southwest England, a giant antenna has been tracking the Orion capsule, pinpointing its position throughout the journey and feeding that data back to NASA headquarters.
Matt Cosby, Goonhilly’s chief technology officer, told the BBC, “This is the first time we’re tracking a spacecraft with humans on it.
“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.”
The hope is that such communication dropouts will soon become a thing of the past. Cosby says that will be essential as NASA and other space agencies around the world begin to build a lunar base and ramp up exploration.
“For a sustainable presence on the Moon, you need full comms – 24 hours a day, even on the far side, because the far side will want to be explored as well,” he said.
Programmes like the European Space Agency’s Moonlight aim to launch a network of satellites around the Moon, providing continuous, reliable communication coverage in the future.
For the Artemis astronauts, this time without contact with Earth will also allow them to focus entirely on the Moon. During the blackout, they will devote themselves to lunar observation – capturing images, studying the Moon’s geology, and simply gazing at its splendour.
When they finally emerge from the Moon’s shadow and the signal is re-established, the world will breathe a collective sigh of relief. And the history-making astronauts will be able to share their incredible views with everyone back home.
