Astronauts on the Artemis II manned lunar exploration mission have reached 'the furthest point from Earth in human history.'



Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II manned lunar exploration mission reached the 'farthest point from Earth in human history' on the morning of April 7, 2026, Japan time. This surpasses the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 by more than 6,000 km.

NASA's Artemis II Crew Eclipses Record for Farthest Human Spaceflight - NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight/



Artemis II astronauts reach farthest distance from Earth
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/live-blog/artemis-ii-moon-astronauts-live-updates-rcna266588/rcrd106964

The Artemis II astronauts have just flown farther from Earth than any humans in history | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/the-artemis-ii-astronauts-have-just-flown-farther-from-earth-than-any-humans-in-history

Artemis II is NASA's crewed lunar exploration mission, in which four astronauts—Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will aboard the Orion spacecraft to perform a flyby around the moon.

The Orion spacecraft, which successfully launched on April 2nd Japan time, continued its journey through space despite encountering problems such as a malfunctioning toilet along the way, and entered the lunar gravitational field on April 6th Japan time.

The furthest point ever reached by humankind was 400,171 km from Earth, recorded by Apollo 13 in 1970. At 2:57 AM Japan time on April 7th, the Orion spacecraft passed the 400,171 km mark, breaking the record for the furthest point reached by humankind.

Then, at approximately 8:02 AM Japan time on April 7th, the Orion spacecraft reached its farthest point from Earth during this space flight, at 406,771 km. This surpasses the previous record set by Apollo 13 by nearly 6,600 km.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted on X, 'Artemis II has reached its greatest distance from Earth. On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth, Reed, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have become the most distant humans to have ever traveled from Earth and are now on their way back. They said before their departure they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment when people began to believe that America could once again do the nearly impossible and change the world.'



After breaking the Apollo 13 record at 2:57 a.m., Jenny Gibbons of the Canadian Space Agency, who serves as the ground communications officer on Artemis II, addressed the astronauts on the Orion spacecraft, saying, 'On April 15, 1970, on the Apollo 13 mission, three explorers set a record for the farthest distance ever reached by humankind. Today, you are about to surpass that frontier for the sake of all mankind.'

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, aboard the Orion spacecraft, commented, 'From aboard the Integrity (the nickname for the Orion spacecraft), as we break the record for the longest distance ever traveled by humankind from Earth, we pay tribute to the extraordinary efforts and achievements of our predecessors in space exploration. We will continue our journey deeper into space before Mother Earth pulls us back. But most importantly, we must challenge the present and future generations, starting from this moment, so that this record does not last forever.'

Shortly after breaking the record, the astronauts proposed naming two unnamed craters near the Church on the near and far sides of the Moon: one 'Integrity,' after the nickname of the Orion spacecraft, and the other 'Carroll,' after the late wife of Commander John Wiseman. These proposals will be formally submitted to the International Astronomical Union after the completion of the Artemis II mission. In the video below, you can see the astronauts hugging and wiping away tears after their proposed crater names were accepted.

Artemis 2 crew proposes naming moon crater after commander's late wife - YouTube


Space photographer Andrew McCarthy has reported to X that he has discovered a crater named 'Carroll' in a composite image of an older lunar image. The 'Carroll' crater is located in the area indicated by the red arrow.



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