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The Artemis II mission from NASA has eclipsed the previous record for the farthest distance from Earth travelled by a human, set by Apollo 13 over 50 years ago, when the crew on board the Orion spacecraft went beyond the previous distance of 248,655 miles (400,171km) set back in 1970 during the Apollo 13 mission.

On April 6, 2026, at 23:07 GMT, the crew members of A2 exceeded the previous record of 248,655 miles (400,171 km), when they flew out over 252,760 miles (406,788 km) from Earth and extended the human footprint further than ever before.

The four-member crew included Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, flew as part of a mission that was part of a lunar flyby mission and, while on the trip to the Moon, they spent over 6 hours looking at and documenting the Moon’s far side, a part of the Moon that has never been seen up close or with human visual eyes. The Orion spacecraft lost communication with Earth for approximately 40 minutes while it was travelling behind the Moon.

The mission used a “free-return trajectory” which will allow the A2 capsule to hit the Earth’s surface roughly 4 days after launch. NASA officials noted that this mission has significant scientific and operational value because it represents an important dry run for the Artemis III lunar mission to land a human on the Moon in 2027 and the Artemis IV human lander for 2028.

Kelsey Young, who is the chief science officer for Artemis II, said that a human observer has a distinct advantage over any machine or camera because: “There is no better way to capture an image than with a human eye.” Former Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, said in his pre-recorded message to the crew, “It’s very nice to have you join me in my house. You’ll soon have a chance to do what I did many years ago.”

This event demonstrates NASA’s renewed commitment to deep space exploration with Artemis. It extends the opportunity for the March 17, 2020, return of astronauts to the Moon, and provides a basis for future missions to Mars.