The Artemis II astronauts will set a new distance record from Earth today

On April 15, 1970, the Apollo 13 mission set a distance record from Earth, traveling 248,655 miles. Nearly 56 years later, the Artemis II mission is expected to break that record by reaching a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth. This milestone will occur as the Orion spacecraft completes its flight around the far side of the Moon. The new record is anticipated to be set at 1:56 PM ET today, April 6, 2026, during a six-hour lunar flyby. NASA's coverage of this event begins at 1 PM ET (The Verge). The Artemis II crew consists of four astronauts who are currently more than halfway to the Moon. They were celebrated by Canada as they prepared for this historic flyby, which will allow them to push deeper into space than the Apollo astronauts did (France24). The crew will fly by the Moon at a distance of approximately 4,000 miles above the lunar surface, marking the closest any human has been to the Moon in over 50 years (South China Morning Post). During the flyby, the astronauts will have the opportunity to observe the far side of the Moon, a view that has never been seen from Earth. This moment is considered the pinnacle of NASA's Artemis II mission, as the astronauts will capture images of the lunar far side (Euronews). The flyby is a significant step in NASA's efforts to explore deeper into space and expand human presence beyond Earth.