Artemis II Flight Schedule for Monday, April 6, 2026

To determine the flight schedule for April 6, 2026, we must look at the mission timeline for Flight Day 6 of the Artemis II mission. This day is defined by the crew's lunar flyby operations.[1] [2]

The scheduled events for Monday, April 6, 2026, are as follows:

• 12:41 a.m. EDT: Orion enters the lunar sphere of influence.[1]
• 2:20 a.m. EDT: Crew sleep period begins.[1]
• 10:50 a.m. EDT: Flight Day 6 begins; crew wakeup.[1]
• 1:00 p.m. EDT: NASA+ coverage of the lunar flyby begins.[1]
• 1:56 p.m. EDT: The crew surpasses the record for the farthest distance from Earth by a human, previously held by Apollo 13 at 248,655 miles.[1] [2]
• 2:10 p.m. EDT: Crew provides audio-only remarks regarding the distance record.[1]
• 2:15 p.m. EDT: Crew configures the Orion cabin for flyby operations.[1]
• 2:45 p.m. EDT: Lunar observation period begins.[1]
• 6:47 p.m. EDT: Predicted loss of communications as the crew passes behind the Moon (estimated duration of 40 minutes).[1]
• 7:02 p.m. EDT: Orion reaches its closest approach to the Moon.[1]
• 7:05 p.m. EDT: Orion reaches its maximum distance from Earth.[1]
• 8:35 p.m. EDT: Orion enters a period where the Moon eclipses the Sun.[1]
• 9:20 p.m. EDT: Lunar observation period concludes.[1]
• 9:32 p.m. EDT: Solar eclipse period concludes.[1]
• 10:50 p.m. EDT: Live downlink event.[1]

This schedule represents the critical midpoint of the mission, where the spacecraft utilizes the Moon's gravity to facilitate a free-return trajectory back toward Earth.[1] [2] [3]