NASA is preparing for a historic moment as the Artemis II crew conducts a lunar flyby, which will give astronauts a rare look at both the near and far sides of the Moon. Communication between the spacecraft and mission control will temporarily drop as Orion passes behind the Moon, causing a temporary blackout. The crew is expected to surpass the distance record set during the Apollo 13 mission, traveling approximately 252,760 miles from Earth, breaking the previous record by over 4,000 miles. The mission will also see the Moon eclipse the Sun from the crew's perspective, creating a rare celestial alignment until about 9:32 p.m. The flyby could reveal new insights about how the human eye perceives subtle color variations on the lunar surface.