Artemis II Crew Travels Farther From Earth Than Any Human Ever

The spacecraft's closest approach to the moon itself was 4,067 miles.

The Artemis II crew has officially traveled farther from Earth than any human ever has.

On Monday, the Orion made its way around the dark side of the moon reaching a maximum distance from Earth of 252,756 miles, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13.

The astronauts also became the first humans to see some parts of the far side of the moon with the naked eye. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon itself was 4,067 miles.

During the lunar fly-by, the crew lost contact with other humans for nearly 40 minutes in a planned loss of signal. During that time, they collected data and recorded observations.

Artemis II is now making its journey back to Earth and is expected to splash down off the California coast on Friday.