The four astronauts of Artemis II reached the deepest point in space ever traveled by humans on Monday as their spacecraft was drawn further by the Moon’s gravitational pull during a historic crewed flyby of the lunar far side.
During this six-hour flyby, lunar scientists at the NASA Johnson Space Center closely monitored and recorded the astronauts’ real-time observations of the Moon’s surface.
The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—began their day in space with a recorded message from the late astronaut Jim Lovell, who wished them success and encouraged them to enjoy the moment.
As the mission progressed, the astronauts set a new distance record, surpassing the previous milestone of the Apollo 13 and reaching approximately 252,755 miles from Earth, the farthest any human has traveled into space.
During their journey, the crew also informally named several lunar features, including proposing the name “Integrity” for one crater and “Carroll” in honor of a crew member’s late wife.
From their position, the astronauts observed the Moon’s far side—an area rarely seen by humans—and captured detailed images using onboard cameras, offering valuable scientific insights.
This milestone marks a significant achievement in the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually establish a long-term presence there, paving the way for future missions to Mars.
