The 40 minutes when the Artemis crew loses contact with the Earth

The 40 Minutes When the Artemis Crew Loses Contact with the Earth

As the Artemis mission progresses, the astronauts find themselves in a unique position, orbiting the Moon with no terrestrial landmarks in sight. Yet, they have maintained a steady link with mission control in Houston, Texas, relying on signals to bridge the vast distance. This connection, however, is about to be severed for a brief period. At approximately 23:47 BST on Monday, the crew will pass behind the Moon, causing a temporary blockage of radio and laser communication. For 40 minutes, they will be isolated, their thoughts and emotions unshared with Earth.

“When we’re behind the Moon, out of contact with everybody, let’s take that as an opportunity,” Victor Glover, an Artemis pilot, said to BBC News prior to the mission. “Let’s pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew.”

History echoes this moment, as Apollo astronauts faced similar silence decades ago. Michael Collins, who orbited the Moon alone during Apollo 11, experienced a 48-minute communication gap when his capsule passed behind the lunar far side. In his 1974 memoir Carrying the Fire, Collins described the feeling of being “truly alone” and “isolated from any known life,” yet he found a sense of calm in the absence of constant mission control updates.

On Earth, the blackout will test the resilience of teams monitoring the spacecraft. At Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, a massive antenna tracks the Orion capsule, relaying its position to NASA. Matt Cosby, Goonhilly’s chief technology officer, shared his perspective with 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 they’re all safe.”

While the blackout is a temporary hurdle, it underscores the need for sustained communication infrastructure. As NASA and global space agencies aim to establish a permanent lunar presence, reliable comms will be vital. Cosby emphasized that “for a sustainable presence on the Moon, you need the full comms—full 24 hours a day, even on the far side, because the far side will want to be explored as well.”

Future initiatives, like the European Space Agency’s Moonlight project, seek to create a satellite network orbiting the Moon. This system will ensure continuous connectivity, eliminating the need for such blackouts. For the Artemis crew, the 40-minute silence is a chance to focus entirely on lunar activities—capturing images, analyzing the Moon’s surface, and reflecting on their surroundings. When the signal returns, the world will share in the relief of reestablishing contact, and the astronauts will recount their extraordinary journey from the Moon’s shadowed side.