Artemis II sets new record distance of humans from earth

The four astronauts aboard Artemis II’s Orion – the moon fly-by spacecraft also called Integrity – have now traveled further from earth than any other human, breaking the previous record of 248,655 miles.

“From the cabin of Integrity here, as we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration,” Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman said. “We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear.

“But we most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew, approached the moon at roughly 3,139 mph and entered lunar space, where the moon’s gravitational pull becomes greater than the earth’s pull, at approximately 12:41 a.m. ET Monday, according to AP News and The Epoch Times.

The four-member crew – NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen – is the largest crew to fly around the moon. At 1:57 p.m. Monday, they surpassed the previous distance record, set by the three-member crew of the Apollo 13 mission in April of 1970, according to AP.

Artemis II is imitating Apollo 13’s infinity-maneuver, which passed by the far-side of the moon and used its gravity to boost the spacecraft back toward earth. The maneuver, called the “free-return lunar trajectory,” was Apollo 13’s adaptation strategy after an oxygen tank explosion thwarted the original moon-landing plan.

The recorded voice of Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell greeted the Artemis astronauts Monday morning.

“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” Lovell said. “It’s a historic day and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.”

Lovell, who was also aboard Apollo 8 – humanity’s first lunar visit – recorded this message a few months before he passed on August 7, 2025.

Artemis II’s intended figure-eight path is 4,100 miles longer than Apollo 13’s, adding an additional five hours to the route, according to The Epoch Times. The closest Artemis II will be to the moon is roughly 4,070 miles from its surface, according to the AP.

Because of the proximity, Integrity’s crew has a better perspective to view the far-side of the moon, roughly 20% of which will be illuminated. At the crew’s closest point, the moon will appear similar to the size of a basketball held at arm’s length, according to The Epoch Times.

Integrity’s crew began its seven-hour Lunar observation “fly-by” around 2:45 p.m. The crew is studying the moon in pairs for five shifts, each roughly an hour.

Human observation offers the “best immediate descriptions” of the moon’s far-side features, according to Artemis Sample Curation Lead Juliane Gross.

“Every human is different with what they can notice and describe,” Gross told the Epoch Times.

The crew will also be able to see the Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 landing sites, according to Artemis II Science Lead Kelsey Young.

When Integrity passes fully behind the moon, the crew will witness an “Earthset” around 6:44 p.m. and lose communication with Mission Control for approximately 40 minutes, according to NASA’s posted timeline. During that time, Integrity will near its closest distance to the moon’s surface at 7:02 p.m. and then its greatest distance from earth, 252,760 miles, at approximately 7:07 p.m.

The crew should regain contact with Mission Control around 7:25 p.m. and will watch an “Earthrise.” The moon will eclipse the sun around 8:35 p.m. before the fly-by period concludes around 9:20 p.m.

When Integrity’s crew broke the distance record, they spoke with Mission Control in Houston, Texas, and suggested the names “Integrity” and “Carroll” for two unnamed craters on the moon’s surface – “Integrity” for the Orion spacecraft and “Carroll” for Commander Wiseman’s late wife, who died in 2020 after a multi-year battle with cancer. Wiseman described the crater as a “bright spot on the moon” on the near-side of the boundary, adding that viewers can see it from earth during parts of the lunar cycle.

Artemis II is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. E.T. on April 10, The Epoch Times reports.