The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission has become the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.
On April 6 (local time), CBS News and other outlets reported that NASA said the Orion spacecraft on Artemis II reached roughly 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth while traveling around the Moon.
That exceeded the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 by about 4,000 miles (approximately 6,400 km), establishing a new human-distance record for the first time in more than 50 years.
That same day, the Orion crew became the first people to see the Moon’s far side with their own eyes while out of contact with Earth for about 45 minutes. Victor Glover, a pilot on the mission, said he witnessed an eclipse from the Moon and described it as “an unbelievable sight.”
Later, the Orion crew spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, who congratulated them: “You are modern pioneers. You have inspired the world.”
Artemis II’s observation phase is now winding down. After completing final tasks, including transmitting the photos they took back to Earth, the spacecraft is scheduled to exit the Moon’s sphere of influence around 1:25 p.m. on the 7th (U.S. Eastern Time; 2:25 a.m. on the 8th in Korea).
Reporter Seo Hee-won
