WASHINGTON — NASA’s Artemis II astronauts have made space history after traveling farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone, surpassing a record that stood unbroken for more than half a century during a dramatic journey around the Moon.
The four-member crew aboard the NASA mission reached a record-breaking distance of 252,756 miles (about 406,800 kilometers) from Earth on April 6, officially eclipsing the legendary benchmark set by the 1970 Apollo 13 crew.
The milestone came during the Artemis II spacecraft’s looping flyby of the Moon, part of a carefully planned mission designed to test deep-space systems ahead of future lunar landings.
“A new milestone for humankind: The crew of Artemis II are now the farthest any human has ever travelled,” NASA confirmed in a statement.
Launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 1, the mission carries Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
As the spacecraft rounded the Moon, the crew captured breathtaking views of the lunar surface, including the mysterious far side and a rare eclipse-like alignment that briefly bathed the spacecraft in shifting shadows and light.
NASA officials described the moment as a defining step toward humanity’s return to the Moon and eventual missions deeper into the solar system.
“The Moon continues to grow larger and larger in the windows of Orion,” mission controllers said as the spacecraft approached its closest lunar point.
Beyond the record-breaking distance, Artemis II is seen as a critical test flight, validating life-support systems, navigation, and crew performance in deep space conditions.
NASA leadership praised the achievement as proof that the next era of lunar exploration is within reach, with future Artemis missions expected to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
The spacecraft is now on its return trajectory to Earth, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, marking the successful completion of a mission that has already rewritten space history.
