Artemis II Crew Completes Historic Lunar Flyby, Surpassing Apollo 13 Distance Record
NASA's Artemis II mission achieved a significant milestone by completing a lunar flyby and setting a new distance record for human spaceflight, surpassing Apollo 13's 1970 achievement.
NASA's Artemis II mission has successfully completed a lunar flyby, marking the first crewed journey to the Moon's vicinity since 1972. The mission's four-person crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—ventured 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13's 1970 record by 4,101 miles.
During the flyby, the crew conducted detailed imaging of lunar features, including the Orientale Basin and historic Apollo landing sites. These observations aim to enhance understanding of the Moon's geology and inform future missions targeting the lunar south pole.
The mission also included emotional moments, such as the crew naming two lunar craters: one near Ohm crater as 'Integrity,' after their spacecraft, and another near Glushko crater as 'Carroll,' in honor of Commander Wiseman's late wife.
Artemis II's success paves the way for subsequent missions, including Artemis III and IV, which plan to return astronauts to the Moon's surface. The crew is now on a free-return trajectory, with re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for April 11, 2026.
