Why will today's lunar flyby only beam back low-resolution video?
April 8, 2026 6:50am
Humanity is about to get its first in-person, up-close look at the Moon in more than half a century. Four astronauts will spend about seven hours on Monday obse...
Humanity is about to get its first in-person, up-close look at the Moon in more than half a century. Four astronauts will spend about seven hours on Monday observing the far side of the Moon, the half that constantly points away from Earth. At their closest approach on board their Orion spacecraft Integrity, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency will be about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) above the surface. Ars Technica reported this update on 2026-04-06 with additional details in the linked source coverage.
5-Second Takeaway
Humanity is about to get its first in-person, up-close look at the Moon in more than half a century.
Why This Matters
Four astronauts will spend about seven hours on Monday observing the far side of the Moon, the half that constantly points away from Earth. At their closest approach on board their Orion spacecraft Integrity, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency will be about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) above the surface.
What Changed
- Ars Technica published this report on 2026-04-06.
- The headline focus is "Why will today's lunar flyby only beam back low-resolution video?".
- Humanity is about to get its first in-person, up-close look at the Moon in more than half a century.
- Four astronauts will spend about seven hours on Monday observing the far side of the Moon, the half that constantly points away from Earth.
- At their closest approach on board their Orion spacecraft Integrity, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency will be about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) above the surface.
- The last time any person came that close was during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
- You can tune into the webcast here, starting at 1 pm ET.Read full article Comments.
Key Facts
- Ars Technica published this report on 2026-04-06.
- The headline focus is "Why will today's lunar flyby only beam back low-resolution video?".
- Humanity is about to get its first in-person, up-close look at the Moon in more than half a century.
- Four astronauts will spend about seven hours on Monday observing the far side of the Moon, the half that constantly points away from Earth.
Key Numbers
- Ars Technica published this report on 2026-04-06.
- At their closest approach on board their Orion spacecraft Integrity, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency will be about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) above the surface.
- The last time any person came that close was during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
- You can tune into the webcast here, starting at 1 pm ET.Read full article Comments.