Artemis II reaches record-setting distance from Earth in moon mission
No human being has ever traveled farther from the planet we call home than the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission.
The Orion spacecraft reached its farthest point from Earth — 252,760 miles — at approximately 7:07 p.m. Eastern on Monday. The crew broke humanity’s previous distance record of 248,655 miles, set by crewmembers of Apollo 13 in 1970, earlier Monday afternoon.
Communication with the spacecraft went quiet shortly before the capsule reached that point, but it was expected. Having the moon between Orion and Earth meant that signals went dark until about 20 minutes later.
Breathtaking views from space
Passing around iPhones, the astronauts have collected dozens of images from aboard the Orion spacecraft.
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In this fully illuminated view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible on the right. (NASA) -
Artemis II commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman looks out one of the Orion spacecraft’s main cabin windows at the Moon ahead of the crew’s lunar flyby on April 6, 2026. (NASA) -
A view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft’s four main windows after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026.(NASA) -
Before going to sleep on flight day 5, the Artemis II crew snapped one more photo of the Moon, as it drew close in the window of the Orion spacecraft. (NASA) -
In this fully illuminated view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible on the right.(NASA)
New discoveries
As the spacecraft approached the far side of the moon, crew members discovered newly formed craters, giving them the chance to name them with some sentimentalities in mind.
They named the first “Integrity” after their capsule, and the second “Carroll” after commander Reid Wiseman’s wife who died of cancer in 2020. Visibly emotional on the camera feed, the crew shared a long hug after the request was sent back to Earth.
A famous wake-up cameo
The crew was awakened Monday with a posthumous message from Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded it shortly before his death in August, 2025.
“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” Lovell said.
Artemis II is using the same maneuver as Apollo 13 did on its famous mission around the moon, during which an oxygen tank explosion canceled plans for a lunar landing.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
