The Artemis 2 mission has achieved a historic milestone by setting a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. According to reports from Swedish media outlets, the four astronauts aboard the spacecraft - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - flew around the Moon on Monday evening, April 6, 2026, reaching a distance of approximately 406,771 kilometers from Earth. This surpasses the previous record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, which reached 400,171 kilometers from Earth.
The mission marks the first time in over 50 years that humans have traveled so close to the Moon. During the flyby, the astronauts experienced a 40-minute period of radio blackout as they passed behind the Moon, making them the farthest humans have ever been from home. The crew reportedly conducted scientific observations, photographed lunar terrain features, and witnessed both an 'Earthset' and 'Earthrise' as their Orion spacecraft traveled around the Moon.
The Artemis 2 mission is part of NASA's broader program to return humans to the lunar surface, with plans for the first woman to walk on the Moon as early as 2028.