science
NASA's Artemis II Mission Completes Lunar Flyby with Record Distance and New Images
The Artemis II mission crew traveled farther from Earth than any previous human mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record. They captured images of the Moon's far side, Earth setting behind the Moon, and a solar eclipse from lunar orbit. The four astronauts are now returning to Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft.
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The Artemis II mission, NASA's first crewed flight under the Artemis program, concluded its lunar flyby phase after the four astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth, breaking the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The crew, consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, conducted the 10-day mission launched on April 3, 2026.
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Eastern time while traveling around the Moon's far side, the first such journey since Apollo 17 in 1972. NASA released images captured by the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, including views of Earth setting behind the Moon and the Moon eclipsing the Sun. These photographs provide detailed documentation of the Moon's far side, captured from approximately 7,000 kilometers away.
The images were taken using cameras and iPhones carried by the astronauts, though the devices could not connect to the internet.
During the flyby, the crew observed numerous craters on the Moon's surface, some dating back about 4 billion years from asteroid impacts shared with Earth.
They proposed naming two craters on the far side: one after the Orion spacecraft, dubbed Integrity, and another for Carroll Wiseman, the late wife of commander Reid Wiseman, who died in 2020 after a five-year illness. This naming occurred during an emotional exchange with mission control in Houston and the family.
“— Jeremy Hansen, during livestream from Orion, April 2026 (The Atlantic)”
The mission marked the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth. President Trump called the astronauts to congratulate them on the achievement, referencing the program's origins in his first term.
