Artemis II crew sets new human spaceflight distance record

The NASA Artemis II mission, which launched on April 1, 2026, has reached the farthest point from Earth ever traveled by humans. On April 6, 2026, the spacecraft Orion reached a maximum distance of approximately 252,752 miles (406,764 km), surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The four-member crew includes Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen. During the mission, the crew flew around the far side of the Moon, experienced a solar eclipse from the lunar perspective, and briefly lost radio contact with Earth for approximately 40 minutes. The astronauts proposed naming two lunar craters in honor of the mission commander's late wife, Carroll, and the spacecraft's name, Integrity. The mission is scheduled to last approximately 10 days, with the crew currently returning to Earth.