The 40 minutes when Artemis II will lose contact with Earth

This is a historic achievement for humankind, as no human will have been further from Earth than the Artemis II astronauts.

The four astronauts on humanity’s furthest ever journey into space are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

While in their rear-view mirror the Earth shrinks ever smaller, the four astronauts have had a had a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas.

However, this will change for about 40 minutes on Monday, as when they reach the far side of the moon, the radio and laser signals that allow the back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.

In a profound moment of solitude and silence, travelling through the darkness of space, the astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings.

Victor Glover, Artemis pilot, told the BBC that he hopes the world will use the time to come together.

“When we’re behind the Moon, out of contact with everybody, let’s take that as an opportunity”, he told BBC News before the mission.

“Let’s pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew.”

The same thing happened to NASA astronauts more than 50 years ago, as the Apollo astronauts also experienced the isolation brought by a loss of signal during their missions to the Moon.

While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history in 1969, taking the first steps on the lunar surface, Michael Collins was alone in the command module, orbiting the Moon.

In his 1974 memoir Carrying the Fire, he described the experience saying he felt “truly alone” and “isolated from any known life”, but that he did not feel fear or loneliness.

While in later interviews, he described the peace and tranquillity brought by the radio silence, saying it offered a break from the constant mission control requests.