Four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission have set a new record for the farthest distance travelled by humans, surpassing a benchmark that stood for over five decades.
At 12:56 p.m. CDT on Monday, the crew crossed 248,655 miles from Earth, overtaking the record set during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, according to a press release issued by NASA.
The spacecraft is expected to reach a maximum distance of about 252,756 miles before turning back towards Earth, setting a new high for human spaceflight.
The mission, NASA's first crewed flight under the Artemis program, is now six days into its journey. On board are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
As the spacecraft moves farther from Earth, the crew has been documenting the Moon, capturing images and collecting data that will support future missions.
The astronauts launched on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket, travelling in the Orion spacecraft. After breaking free of Earth's orbit, the spacecraft set its course toward the Moon.
During the lunar flyby, the spacecraft will come within about 4,067 miles of the Moon's surface. The astronauts are expected to view parts of the Moon's far side directly and witness a solar eclipse as the Moon passes in front of the Sun.
A planned communication blackout of around 40 minutes is expected as the Moon blocks signals between the spacecraft and Earth. Contact will resume once the spacecraft reappears, reconnecting with mission control at Johnson Space Center.
Following the lunar flyby, Orion is continuing on a free-return trajectory back to Earth.
The mission is expected to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near California after roughly 10 days in space.
