Artemis II has once again made history by carrying humans farther from Earth than ever before, surpassing the record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The previous record fell today (April 6) at 1:57 p.m. EDT (17:57 GMT) as the Orion capsule “Integrity” began its loop around the far side of the moon. NASA says the mission will reach a maximum distance of 252,760 miles (406,777 kilometers) from Earth during the six-hour lunar flyby, which will break the previous human-spaceflight record by roughly 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers).
Not long after breaking the record, the crew’s trip around the moon became even more poignant as they spotted a crater between the moon’s near and far sides. They called down to mission control to request it be named after Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll.
Wiseman said that there was a feature on “a really neat place” on the moon “just on the near-side” of the far-side boundary.
“So at certain times of the moon’s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth,” Wiseman said, his voice cracking. “We lost a loved one; her name was Carroll. The spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie.”
“It’s a bright spot on the moon. We would like to call it Carroll,” he concluded before hugging his crew.
The astronauts also saw another crater they asked to be named after their capsule, “Integrity.”
“Integrity and Carroll crater. Loud and clear,” mission control responded.
Lunar flyby
The Orion spacecraft will move about 3,139 mph (5,052 km/h) as it passes around the moon.
During the lunar flyby, the four Artemis II astronauts — Weisman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen — will photograph around 30 science targets on the lunar surface. These include the huge Orientale basin, a roughly 600-mile-wide (1,000 km) impact crater that straddles the moon’s near and far sides, and Hertzsprung basin, an older crater on the far side.
“I wish you were up here to see the smiling faces,” Artemis II commander and astronaut Reid Weisman said today (April 6) during NASA’s livestream of the lunar flyby.
The Artemis II mission will have a higher view of the moon than the Apollo missions, giving a different vantage point of the lunar surface, according to the NASA livestream. These observations are meant to give scientists fresh, close-range views of lunar geology from multiple angles during the flyby.
“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye,” Glover said during the NASA livestream.
The flyby is expected to produce some of the mission’s most dramatic images. From the Orion spacecraft, the crewmembers will see “Earthset” as Earth slips behind the moon, followed later by “Earthrise,” as our planet reappears over the lunar horizon. The first “Earthrise” image was famously captured by the Apollo 8 mission in 1968.
According to the Associated Press, the Artemis II astronauts woke up today with a recorded message from Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell shortly before he died in August 2025: “Welcome to my old neighborhood. It’s a historic day and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.”
The mission’s timeline will also allow the astronauts to witness a solar eclipse as the moon passes in front of the sun. Using solar eclipse glasses and special camera lenses, the crewmembers will be able to see and photograph the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, as it peaks around the lunar edge.
“We are ready to deliver,” Koch said during the NASA livestream.
What do you know about the moon? Test your knowledge with our moon quiz!