Artemis II Commander Sends Message People Can't Ignore Ahead of Lunar Flyby

The Artemis II crew will embark on their highly-anticipated lunar flyby on Monday, breaking the human distance record and becoming the first people in history to view the far side of the moon with the naked eye.

The four-person crew, featuring astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, launched from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday — beginning their 10-day mission on the Orion spacecraft.

On Monday morning, just a few hours before the crew begins their lunar flyby, Wiseman shared a powerful message on social media.

The NASA astronaut and commander of the Artemis II mission resurfaced an old post of his from back in 2016.

"Dreamt I was in lunar orbit last night. Been in that post-vivid-dream-that-wasn't-real funk all morning," he wrote at the time.

"All I feel is gratitude for this experience," Wiseman wrote on Monday.

All I feel is gratitude for this experience. https://t.co/47epB947bF

— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 6, 2026

Coverage of Artemis II's lunar flyby will begin at 1 p.m. ET on Monday. Wiseman and the rest of the crew will address the public at 2:45 p.m. ET before beginning their unprecedented mission around the moon.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen are clearly excited about the opportunity to make history.

“The four of us have looked at the moon our entire lives, and the way we are responding to what we’re seeing out the window is just like we’re a bunch of kids up here,” Wiseman said on Sunday evening. “We cannot get enough of this. It’s amazing.”