Artemis II breaks Apollo 13’s distance record as humans travel farther from Earth than ever before

With the moon now filling their windows, the Artemis II astronauts set a record Monday as the farthest humans from Earth during a lunar flyby promising magnificent views of the far side never before witnessed. The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASA's first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian — a step toward landing boot prints near the moon's south pole in just two years. First came a prize — and bragging rights — for Artemis II. NASA Artemis II crew members Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover answer questions from reporters during the first downlink event of their mission April 2, 2026. NASA TV | Via Reuters Less than an hour before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations, the four astronauts surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. They kept going, hurtling ever farther from Earth. Before it was all over, Mission Control expected Artemis II to beat the old record by more than 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers). "It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. He challenged "this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived." Moments after breaking Apollo 13's record, the astronauts asked permission to name two fresh lunar craters already observed. They proposed Integrity, their capsule's name, and Carroll in honor of commander Reid Wiseman's late wife who died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman wept as Hansen put in the request to Mission Control, and all four astronauts embraced in tears. "Such a majestic view out here," Wiseman radioed. The astronauts started the momentous day with the voice of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded a wake-up message just two months before his death last August. "Welcome to my old neighborhood," said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity's...