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

BBC News - World TechnologyNews ReportEN 3 min read 100% complete April 6, 2026 at 01:02 AM

Part of Story

Artemis II crew enters moon’s gravitational grip ahead of historic flyby

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

During the Artemis II mission, the crew will experience a 40-minute period of radio silence when their spacecraft passes behind the Moon at approximately 23:47 BST on Monday. This loss of communication with mission control in Houston is due to the Moon blocking radio and laser signals. The astronauts will be completely isolated, similar to what Apollo astronauts, including Michael Collins, experienced during lunar missions. Victor Glover, the Artemis pilot, hopes people will use this time to send positive thoughts to the crew. This period of isolation offers a moment of solitude for the astronauts as they travel through space.

Article Analysis

Framing Angle

Technology

Primary framing

Human Interest

Secondary framing

Measured

Sensationalism

Factual

Fact vs Opinion

OpinionFactual

Sources Cited

Well sourced

AI-powered analysis of article framing, tone, and source quality. Scores help identify potential bias and information quality.

Key Claims (4)

AI-Extracted

Goonhilly Earth Station is tracking the Orion capsule and feeding information back to Nasa HQ.

factual — Matt Cosby, Goonhilly's chief technology officer100% confidence

Apollo 11's Michael Collins experienced a 48-minute loss of signal while orbiting the Moon.

factual — NASAAstronaut Michael Collins100% confidence

Artemis pilot Victor Glover hopes the world will use the time of lost contact to send good thoughts to the crew.

quote — Victor Glover100% confidence

The Artemis astronauts will lose contact with Earth for about 40 minutes as they pass behind the Moon.

factual — Rebecca Morelle, Alison Francis, Kevin Church100% confidence

Claims are automatically extracted and should be independently verified. Attribution indicates the stated source of the claim.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Buzz Aldrin 30% Neil Armstrong 30% Apollo 11 40% Michael Collins ×340% Victor Glover 50% Houston, Texas 50% Earth ×460% Moon ×970% National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ×580% Artemis ×690%

Keywords

moon 90% artemis ii 90% loss of communication 80% space mission 70% astronauts 70% nasa 60% radio silence 60% apollo missions 60% michael collins 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Article Type

News Report

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Moon

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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moon artemis ii loss of communication space mission astronauts nasa radio silence apollo missions michael collins

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