Artemis Crew Faces 40 Minutes of Silence Behind Moon
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- Artemis II crew will lose all contact with Earth for about 40 minutes on Monday at 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) as the spacecraft passes behind the Moon, which physically blocks radio and laser signals between the capsule and Houston mission control.
- Victor Glover asked the public to use the blackout as a moment to "pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew," in remarks to BBC News before the mission.
- Apollo 11's Michael Collins spent 48 minutes alone behind the Moon in 1969 and later wrote in his memoir Carrying the Fire that he felt "truly alone" and "isolated from any known life" — yet in later interviews described the radio silence as peaceful and a welcome break from mission control's constant requests.
- Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall is tracking the Orion capsule throughout the mission — the first time the station has tracked a crewed spacecraft — with CTO Matt Cosby telling the BBC staff will get "slightly nervous" when signal drops and "very excited" when it returns.
- ESA's Moonlight programme is planning a satellite network around the Moon to provide continuous, reliable communications, which Cosby called essential: "For a sustainable presence on the Moon, you need the full comms — you need the full 24 hours a day, even on the far side."
Why it matters: The 40-minute blackout is the first time Goonhilly Earth Station has tracked a crewed spacecraft, and it highlights why ESA is racing to build the Moonlight satellite relay network — Cosby said continuous 24-hour lunar communications are non-negotiable for any future Moon base or far-side exploration.
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