About this episode

The episode discusses the Artemis II astronauts' successful flyby of the Moon and their experiences during the mission.

It’s been a big day for the Artemis II astronauts. They broke a 56-year record for the furthest distance humans have travelled from Earth, successfully looped around the Moon, and capped off the flyby with a solar eclipse. Belinda and Jacinta break down what the crew saw as they gazed upon the Moon’s far side and why they lost contact with mission control for 40 minutes. To hear more podcast episodes from hosts Belinda Smith and Jacinta Bowler about the Artemis II mission to the moon, search ‘Science Friction: Artemis Explained podcast’ from Radio National (RN) on the ABC Listen App (Australia), or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us: sciencefriction@abc.net.au . Credits: Presenters: Belinda Smith and Jacinta Bowler Senior Producer: Shelby Traynor Executive Producer: Petria Ladgrove This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal and Wurundjeri peoples.

People in this episode

Hosts: Belinda Smith, Jacinta Bowler

Topics covered

• Artemis II
• Moon flyby
• space exploration
• astronauts
• solar eclipse
• mission control

Keywords

• Artemis II
• Moon
• flyby
• astronauts
• solar eclipse
• mission control
• space exploration

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Australia, Moon

More episodes of Science Friction

• 12 | Artemis Explained: What a ride · April 15, 2026 · 17 min
• 11 | Artemis Explained: Mission accomplished · April 11, 2026 · 17 min
• 10 | Artemis Explained: Countdown to splashdown · April 10, 2026 · 17 min
• 09 | Artemis Explained: Next stop, Earth · April 9, 2026 · 15 min
• 08 | Artemis Explained: Homeward bound · April 8, 2026 · 17 min
• 06 | Artemis Explained: Moon joy · April 6, 2026 · 15 min

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