Artemis II moon mission breaks Apollo 13 record for distance from Earth
Summary
NASA's Artemis II mission sets a new record for human distance from Earth during a crewed lunar flyby, surpassing Apollo 13's record from 1970 while capturing detailed images of the moon's far side.
Key Points
- The Artemis II crew became the farthest humans from Earth at 252,755 miles, breaking the Apollo 13 record set in 1970.
- The mission included a crewed flyby of the moon's far side, a rare event with few previous astronauts having seen it directly.
- Astronauts assigned provisional names to unnamed lunar craters, including one named after the Orion capsule and another in memory of an astronaut's late wife.
- The Artemis program aims to return humans to the moon by 2028 and establish a long-term US presence, serving as a stepping stone for future Mars missions.
