Watch: Artemis II mission loses contact with Earth for 40 minutes

The Artemis II astronauts lost contact with Earth for about 40 minutes while traveling behind the Moon. The communications blackout was expected as the spacecraft signals were blocked by the Moon. NASA reported that the crew was at a distance of 406,771 km from Earth during the blackout. Once contact was regained, astronaut Christina Koch expressed her joy by saying, "It is so great to hear from Earth again."