The NASA Artemis Program has announced a major milestone in its ongoing lunar mission, revealing that astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft have surpassed the historic distance record previously set during Apollo 13.
The update was shared Monday via NASA’s official X handle, NASA Artemis (@NasaArtemis), as the mission continues its journey toward the Moon.
“Approaching the near side of the Moon,” NASA Artemis posted, signaling the spacecraft’s steady progress toward lunar orbit.
Providing further details, the agency confirmed that the astronauts had already broken the long-standing distance record from Earth.
“The Artemis II astronauts have surpassed the record for the distance from Earth at 1:56 ET (1756 UTC). This record was previously set during the Apollo 13 mission when the astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth,” the post stated.
NASA also disclosed that the Moon is becoming increasingly visible from the spacecraft windows as the crew prepares for the next phase of the mission.
“The Moon continues to grow larger and larger in the windows of the Orion spacecraft as the Artemis II mission gears up to observe the far side,” NASA added.
The spacecraft, identified as the Orion spacecraft, is expected to reach its closest approach to the Moon later Monday evening.
“The astronauts are predicted to make their closest approach of the Moon around 7:02pm ET (2302 UTC),” the agency further confirmed.
The Artemis II mission represents a significant step in NASA’s broader lunar exploration ambitions, as it marks the first crewed mission under the Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the Moon and eventually paving the way for future missions to Mars.
The milestone underscores growing momentum in NASA’s deep-space exploration efforts, with the Artemis II astronauts now venturing farther from Earth than any humans have traveled in more than five decades.