Artemis II breaks radio silence with four historic words as it emerges from Moon

The Artemis II mission, now at its closest point to the Moon, has broken radio silence with NASA Mission Control after a 40-minute blackout — and the crew’s first words were historic

Orion emerged from behind the Moon right on schedule, with radio contact instantly restored — bringing to an end a tense 40-minute blackout which had left Mission Control waiting in complete silence.

Mission specialist Christina Koch was the first to speak. Her first four words were: “Houston, Integrity, comm check.” She then added: “It is so great to hear from Earth again.”

With no signal possible on the lunar far side, the capsule had been operating entirely independently. Computers aboard Orion fired the engines at precisely the right moment to propel the spacecraft onto a homeward trajectory — a manoeuvre carried out well beyond the reach of any ground controller.

Today, the crew reached its closest point to the Moon and will now head back towards Earth. The four astronauts became the furthest-flying humans in history, breaking the record of Apollo 13 set in 1970.

When the connection was restored, a wave of relief swept through Mission Control. Engineers watched data begin filling their screens; moments later, Koch’s voice came through, reports the Express.

Uncertainty is an ever-present companion in crewed spaceflight — however straightforward a mission may seem, nothing is guaranteed until the crew is heard from once more. Relatives who had gathered to watch spent the communications blackout working through briefing documents, deliberately keeping their minds off the clock.

A queue of stored information is now transmitting back to Earth, reports the BBC. Everything Orion recorded on the far side — sensor readings, flight data, imagery — is being downloaded via NASA’s Deep Space Network, with mission teams expected to spend the coming days poring over the results.

Among the images already coming through are what appear to be the sharpest photographs ever captured of the Moon’s far hemisphere. The crew didn’t waste a moment in acknowledging the milestone. Straightaway, there was work to get back to.

Before communications ceased, Glover delivered what proved to be an appropriate farewell – referencing the teachings of Jesus, including the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself, before concluding with words that held a dual significance. He said: “We will see you on the other side.”

The communications blackout marks a mission that has already made history. At 1.57pm ET, Orion transported its crew to 252,757 miles from Earth – a distance no human had ever travelled before.

The record that was broken belonged to Apollo 13, whose crew reached 248,655 miles from home during their perilous emergency journey back in 1970 – a record that had remained unbeaten for 55 years.