Artemis II crew set to surpass Apollo 13 distance record
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- Artemis II crew entered the moon's "sphere of influence" and is poised to begin the first crewed flyby of the lunar far side in more than half a century
- The four astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — are on course to surpass the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles from Earth set in April 1970, becoming the most distant humans in history
- The six-hour flyby follows a free-return trajectory and will pass just over 4,000 miles above the lunar surface at closest approach — compared to Apollo's roughly 70 miles — allowing the crew to see the moon's complete spherical shape including both poles
- Lead mission scientist Kelsey Young said the crew's timing behind the moon will coincide with a total solar eclipse from their vantage point, alongside a planned 40-minute communications blackout as the lunar surface blocks Deep Space Network signals
- NASA released an image of the Orientale basin — sometimes called the moon's "Grand Canyon" — marking the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes
- NASA chief Jared Isaacman said the team is focused on life support system data from this first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft, calling it "paramount to set up for subsequent missions like Artemis III in 2027 and... the lunar landing itself on Artemis IV in 2028"
- Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke, 90, delivered a ceremonial wake-up call on day five, telling the crew "we in America and all of the world are cheering you on"; splashdown in the Pacific is scheduled for Friday after a four-day return
Why it matters: The Orion life support data collected on this test flight is the gating factor for NASA's multibillion-dollar push to return astronauts to the lunar surface on Artemis IV in 2028, a deadline the agency has explicitly framed as a race against China to establish a long-term US presence on the moon.
