Artemis II crew sets record for farthest distance traveled from Earth

NASA’s Artemis II mission made history Monday by sending humans farther from Earth than ever before.

The four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — were on a path taking them within about 4,070 miles of the moon’s surface, nearly 252,760 miles from Earth. They broke the Apollo 13 crew’s record of 248,655 miles, set in 1970.

“Today, for all humanity, you’re pushing beyond that frontier,” Jenni Gibbons, the capsule communicator from Mission Control, said as Orion set the mark just before 2 p.m. EDT.

“As we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from Planet Earth, we do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration,” Wiseman said. “We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear, but we most importantly choose this moment, to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Christina Koch looks out the window at the earth. — NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft’s windows on April 4, 2026. NASA via Getty Images

Orion launched Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 10-day mission around the moon and back, setting the stage for future missions aimed at a permanent lunar presence.

As expected, Mission Control briefly lost communication with the crew around 6:44pm, as Orion passed behind the moon, the space agency said. Communication was eventually reestablished at 7:25pm.

“At this distance, the moon will appear to the astronauts about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length,” NASA said ahead of the mission. “They also may be the first humans to see some parts of the moon’s far side with the unaided eye.”

After breaking the record, the crew proposed two names for previously unnamed craters on the moon. The first is Integrity, named after the Orion spacecraft. The other, a “bright spot,” is Carroll, named after Wiseman’s late wife.

“Integrity and Carroll crater, loud and clear,” Mission Control responded.

Artemis II will begin its return to Earth after lunar observations conclude Monday night. The vessel is expected to splash down off San Diego on Friday evening.

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