How To Watch Artemis II's Historic Lunar Flyby Live At Home

By Jeremy Mathai
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace floating in a spaceship in zero gravity and looking out the window in Project Hail Mary Amazon MGM Studios

There are Project Hail Marys everywhere for those with the eyes to see. No, our sun isn't getting eaten alive by microscopic space algae (as far as we know), and humanity isn't on the verge of an extinction-level catastrophe (well, not from anything related to space, at least). But the next best thing is going down even while you're reading the next words of this sentence, and it's by far the most historic moment for human-led spaceflight since we last stepped foot on Earth's moon in 1972. Amaze, amaze, amaze!

The four crew members of the Artemis II are currently on their way to our nearest cosmic neighbor for a lunar flyby, the first time humanity has traveled beyond Earth's orbit in over 50 years — and, because we're spoiled rotten here in the 21st century, you can watch the momentous occasion live and on streaming. Those who've been following along know that NASA has been incredibly active on social media ever since the launch a few days ago. The mission planners have shared their zero-gravity diets, stunning pictures of both the Earth and the Moon, and even what classic tunes the astronauts have been waking up to each "morning" (so to speak). Luckily, for us all, that trend continues on with the most important stage yet of their trip.

In a very handy post on X (formerly Twitter), the official NASA account has informed the masses back home that we can actually watch this event through numerous livestreams at our fingertips beginning at 1pm ET. There's the NASA+ streaming service, the space agency's ad-free and on-demand (and subscription-free) platform. But there are also more familiar third-party options to get your space fix, such as Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, and Roku.

You won't want to miss Artemis II's flyby of Earth's moon

Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong walking down a corridor in an astronaut suit ahead of Lukas Haas as Mike Collins and Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin in First Man Daniel McFadden/Universal Studios

How lucky are we to be living at a time when we're not just sending humans around Earth's moon again for the first time in decades, but that this gives us an excuse to nerd out over multiple Ryan Gosling space movies that neatly parallel this real-life news? For those who've flocked to theaters to catch "Project Hail Mary" on the biggest possible screen, please take this as a sign to revisit director Damien Chazelle's brilliant "First Man" from 2018, in which Gosling starred as a traumatized Neil Armstrong on his way to becoming the first person to step foot on the nearest moon.

Now, to be clear, the Artemis II mission isn't actually landing on that big ol' ball of cheese. (Fact check: Despite what "Wallace & Gromit" may have claimed, Earth's moon isn't actually made of cheese.) Although just as scientifically valuable as any other mission, this spaceflight is actually being conducted as a test run of sorts. NASA plans to establish a permanent foothold on the Moon in the years ahead, but it must first put the Orion spacecraft through its paces. Artemis III, scheduled to launch in 2027 but remain in Earth orbit, will serve as another test flight in order to make sure the lunar lander and the new spacesuits will prove viable. That leaves Artemis IV as the one to circle on your calendars, as humans will finally land on the Moon again sometime in early 2028.

This is all very exciting, made even more special by the degree to which us Earthlings will be able to follow along. Though the festivities begin at 1pm ET, the timeline spans several hours. Now, let's just hope the moon isn't actually haunted.

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