Historic Space Milestone: Artemis II Astronauts Reach Farthest Distance Ever From Earth.
Four astronauts aboard Artemis II have made history after travelling farther from Earth than any humans ever have. On Monday, the crew crossed into the Moon’s gravitational influence, setting a new distance record as they continue their journey toward the lunar far side.
The astronauts, flying in the Orion spacecraft after launching from Florida last week, woke up on their sixth day in space to a recorded message from legendary astronaut, Jim Lovell.
“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” Lovell said in the message recorded before his death at age 97. He encouraged the crew to take in the view and wished them luck on the historic journey.
The mission’s crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen.
Later in the day, the team reached a staggering distance of about 252,760 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by Lovell and his crew during Apollo 13 more than five decades ago.
Next on the journey is a dramatic flyby around the Moon’s far side, where the astronauts will glide roughly 4,000 miles above the lunar surface. From that vantage point, they’ll witness Earth appearing no bigger than a basketball in the distance.
The moment marks one of the most dramatic stages of the nearly 10-day Artemis II mission — the first crewed test flight in NASA’s ambitious Artemis Program.
The broader program aims to return humans to the Moon by 2028, establish a long-term presence there, and eventually use the lunar environment to prepare for future missions to Mars.
During the lunar flyby, the astronauts will briefly lose communication with Earth as the Moon blocks signals from NASA’s Deep Space Network.
The roughly six-hour pass behind the Moon will also give the crew a rare opportunity to capture detailed photographs of the lunar landscape using professional cameras aboard the Orion capsule.
They are also expected to witness a stunning celestial sight — Earth rising and setting along the Moon’s horizon, a breathtaking perspective rarely seen by humans.
Back on Earth, teams of lunar scientists at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston are closely monitoring the mission. As the astronauts describe what they see in real time, scientists are documenting observations that could provide valuable insights for future lunar exploration.
