Artemis II Crew Completes Lunar Flyby, Breaks Distance Record

NASA's Artemis II mission achieved a historic milestone on Monday as four astronauts completed a lunar flyby, surpassing the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth and capturing unprecedented views of the moon's far side before beginning their journey home.

The crew, consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, all from NASA, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, launched aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 10-day test flight marked the first crewed deep space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. During the six-hour flyby, the spacecraft reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, eclipsing the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles set in 1970 by more than 4,100 miles. At its closest approach, Orion passed 4,067 miles from the lunar surface at a speed of about 3,139 miles per hour.

As the spacecraft swung behind the moon, the crew endured a planned 40-minute communications blackout, losing contact with mission control in Houston. Emerging from the far side, they reestablished contact, with Koch expressing relief: "It is so great to hear from Earth...