Netflix is making history alongside NASA on Monday, April 6, as the streaming giant prepares to broadcast the Artemis II lunar flyby live to millions of subscribers around the world, beginning at 1 PM ET.
The Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft named Integrity: NASA commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission represents humanity’s first crewed journey to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, and Monday’s flyby is the emotional and scientific climax of the entire 10-day voyage. Netflix notably sat out the historic launch, leaving that broadcast to traditional networks and competing platforms. However, the company has now confirmed it will plug directly into NASA’s official feed to air the flyby, giving subscribers a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic moments in modern spaceflight history.
The stream kicks off at 1 PM ET, though NASA has cautioned that exact timing could shift based on real-time mission operations. Netflix has not specified how long its own coverage window will run, so viewers should plan to check the platform’s NASA+ Live section for the most current information as Monday approaches. What is confirmed is that the most dramatic moments span several hours, with the record-breaking distance milestone projected at 1:56 PM ET and the crew reaching maximum distance from Earth at around 7:07 PM ET.
The flyby itself will swing the Orion spacecraft around the far side of the Moon, using lunar gravity as a natural slingshot to send the crew hurtling back toward Earth. For roughly 40 minutes during that close approach, the astronauts will vanish entirely behind the Moon, cutting off all communication with mission controllers on the ground. NASA’s Deep Space Network, with its giant antenna installations in California, Spain, and Australia, will lose contact entirely as the lunar surface blocks all radio signals. Flight director Judd Frieling has described the physics of the maneuver as something that will absolutely return the crew to the front side of the Moon, though the silence will be unmistakably tense for those watching at home and at Mission Control in Houston.
Monday’s coverage arrives in the context of a broader, and so far underwhelming, partnership between Netflix and NASA. The two organizations struck a deal last summer to bring NASA+ content directly to Netflix subscribers, but the arrangement has yielded little since its announcement. As of today, only a single stream has aired through that agreement, back on July 31 of last year. Monday’s flyby will represent only the second time Netflix has activated that partnership, and the stakes have never been higher. Whether the broadcast draws the audience it deserves could meaningfully influence how aggressively Netflix pursues live space content going forward, a category that has already drawn enormous interest across the broader streaming landscape.
Netflix will not be carrying the flyby alone. NASA’s own YouTube channel will carry continuous coverage, and platforms including HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu, Apple TV, and Roku are all set to simulcast the event, also beginning at 1 PM ET. NASA+ itself remains free, requiring no subscription, and is accessible across iOS, Android, and most major streaming devices. For Netflix subscribers, the stream will be visible through the NASA+ Live on Netflix section of the platform.
As the Orion spacecraft rounds the far side of the Moon, the crew is expected to conduct science observations targeting regions of the lunar surface that were too dark or too distant for the 24 Apollo astronauts to have studied closely. Two key targets include the Orientale basin and the ancient Hertzsprung crater, a nearly 400-mile-wide feature whose degraded topography offers a striking geological contrast to the more recently formed Orientale impact site. Following the flyby, Orion will be set on a return trajectory toward Earth, with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for April 10.
