This is no April Fools' Day prank. The Artemis II mission is scheduled to begin its 2-hour liftoff on Wednesday, with its launch window beginning at 6:24 p.m. ET, initiating a 10-day mission for four astronauts and marking the first time humans have flown to the moon since 1972. On the Orion spacecraft, these astronauts will travel farther than any before have gone into space: about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon.
While NASA has created its own tool, the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website, which allows you to track the Artemis II, we got a behind-the-scenes look at the Artemis astronauts inside the Orion spacecraft. This is all thanks to Nat Geo's collaboration with NASA on Artemis II.
INSERT VIDEO - 10 - The Space Closer - starts with "In 3D, it's gonna feel bigger..."
Back in April 2025, as part of an "astronaut film school," Nat Geo photo and video editors visited Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a Houston-based Orion mockup to teach them about how to best film their mission with Nat Geo cameras, audio and other tech.
This is part of NASA and National Geographic's Space Act Agreement, under which they collaborated on compact, lightweight audiovisual hardware for use inside Orion.
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These clips are just a taste. Nat Geo will soon release a documentary special that goes in greater depth. In the meantime, you can learn more about how the astronauts will rest (spoiler: one will sleep like a bat):
INSERT VIDEO - 5 - The Bedroom
Even entering the spacecraft requires extra attention:
INSERT VIDEO - 3 - Crouch Stepping In
While the toilet, or "hygiene bay," is in the floor of the vessel, Mission Specialist Christina Koch says you wouldn't know it once you're in there. However, the astronauts do have to use handholds and, surprisingly, hearing protection because the toilet is so loud:
INSERT VIDEO - 9 - The Toilet
Astronauts need to get in their workouts, too. The flywheel exercise device can be used with a handheld bar attached to a strap or a harness, and thanks to zero gravity, whoever is exercising will be doing so toward the craft's docking tunnel. Since it's over the toilet, someone could be using the bathroom while a fellow astronaut works out above them.
INSERT VIDEO - 8 - The Gym
Considering that all of this was filmed before the astronauts even blasted off into space, we expect to see more behind-the-scenes clips once Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen are on their way to the moon and back. We're secretly hoping for a visual showing what it looks like when a human can sleep upside down, bat-style.
Check back for CNET's live coverage of the launch of the Artemis II mission on Wednesday evening.
