Artemis II Completes Historic Lunar Flyby — Breaks Apollo 13 Distance Record at 252,706 Miles

Flight Day 6 of Artemis II delivered one of the most significant milestones in human spaceflight since the Apollo era. At 1:56 p.m. EDT, the Orion spacecraft surpassed Apollo 13's 1970 record of 248,655 miles from Earth — making Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen the farthest-traveling humans in history. The lunar flyby observation window ran from 2:45 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. EDT, during which Orion's main cabin windows were pointed continuously toward the Moon. The crew observed and photographed 30 pre-selected lunar surface targets including the Orientale impact basin (~600 miles wide, formed 3.8 billion years ago), regions near the north and south poles, and candidate sites for future Artemis landing missions. Closest approach occurred at approximately 7:02 p.m. EDT at 4,070 miles above the lunar surface — close enough to see the entire lunar disk simultaneously, including far-side terrain no Apollo crew observed from such proximity. Maximum distance from Earth was reached at 7:07 p.m. EDT at 252,706 miles. All systems remained nominal throughout the flyby. The crew was in excellent health. Mission control in Houston provided near-continuous video commentary via NASA TV; the flyby drew worldwide television audiences.