Artemis II Moon Mission’s Astronauts Break Record For Farthest Distance Travelled From Earth

The crew of Artemis II has set a new record for the farthest distance ever travelled by humans from earth, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Monday.

The four-member crew journeyed approximately 406,711 kilometres from Earth, surpassing the previous record of 400,171 kilometres set by astronauts aboard Apollo 13 in 1970.

The astronauts—Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—were launched aboard the Orion spacecraft on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday.

During the mission, the crew became the first humans in decades to view parts of the Moon’s far side directly. They also witnessed a solar eclipse as the Moon passed in front of the Sun.

Describing the experience, Hansen said the lunar flyby was “extraordinary.”

“When we were on the far side of the moon, looking back at Earth, you really felt like you weren’t in a capsule. You’d been transported to the far side of the moon. And it really just bent your mind,” he said.

Koch also expressed awe at the mission, saying she was reluctant to return to Earth.
“I’m not ready to go home. I can’t believe that something this cramped of quarters can fly by and still be fun every single minute,” she said.

NASA said high-resolution imagery of the Moon was captured during the flyby, including features never before seen directly by humans.

The crew also proposed names for two lunar craters during the mission—one in honour of their spacecraft, Integrity, and another in memory of Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. The proposals will be submitted to the International Astronomical Union for formal approval.

Earlier, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft had entered the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence, where the Moon’s gravity exerts a stronger pull than Earth’s.

For Glover, Koch and Wiseman, the mission marks their second spaceflight, while it is Hansen’s first. Koch is the first woman on a NASA lunar mission, Glover the first non-white astronaut on such a mission, and Hansen the first Canadian.

The Artemis II trajectory follows a figure-eight path around Earth and the Moon, with the crew expected to travel more than 2.3 million kilometres before returning.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the astronauts had begun their journey back to Earth.

“Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world,” he said.

“Congratulations to this incredible crew and the entire NASA team, our international and commercial partners, but this mission isn’t over until they’re under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific.”

The crew is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday.

Human space exploration milestones date back to Neil Armstrong, who became the first person to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The last astronaut to leave the lunar surface was Eugene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

In total, the United States remains the only country to have landed humans on the Moon, with 12 astronauts walking on its surface between 1969 and 1972 under the Apollo programme.