By: Suraya Smith, IntegraMSP Client Success Manager
As the Artemis II crew traveled further than any person has before, they endured 40 minutes of no communication back to Earth as they passed behind the far side of the moon (MSN).
For those 40 minutes, there was no contact. No real-time visibility. No ability to intervene. And yet, the mission continued, because it was designed to.
NASA doesn’t rely on being able to react in the moment; they plan for scenarios for where they can't.
This idea isn't only for NASA and rocket scientists; it directly applies to how every business should think about disaster recovery and operational resilience.
You won't always have access when something goes wrong
During the blackout, there's no ability to troubleshoot in real time. Whatever happens, the systems and processes already in place must carry the mission forward.
In businesses, outages don't happen at convenient times. Whether it's a system failure, network issue, or external disruption, you may not always have immediate access or visibility when something breaks.
That's why preparation is critical.
Most disruptions aren’t isolated
During the blackout, NASA wasn’t just planning for one system and its function; they were accounting for how everything works together without real-time oversight and guidance.
In business environments, systems are more connected than they appear at first glance. When one piece goes down, such as a server, network, or another provider, it’s impact can reach further than expected. Understanding those dependencies and intricacies ahead of time is what allows for recovery efforts to move smoothly instead of becoming reactive.
Plans need to be validated
The blackout during the Artemis II mission was a known disruption, giving NASA the opportunity to review how systems and processes will perform ahead of time.
While most disruptions aren’t known beforehand, it doesn’t mean you can’t plan, prepare, and review. Disaster recovery plans are most effective when they’re periodically revisited and validated. Even small reviews or updates can help ensure systems, access, and processes will function as expected when they’re needed.
When systems go quiet and visibility is limited, recovery depends on what’s already in place. Preparation isn’t about how fast you can react; it’s about being ready.
