NASA's crewed lunar exploration spacecraft 'Artemis 2' successfully completed a close flyby passing behind the far side of the Moon on the 6th (local time). With this, the four astronauts who carried out the mission set a new record as the humans who have traveled the farthest from Earth.
According to a compilation of reports from AP and other foreign media outlets, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced on the social media platform X that day, "Artemis 2 has reached its farthest point from Earth," adding that "they traveled to the farthest point any humans have ever been, on the far side of the Moon at 252,756 miles (approximately 406,771 km) from Earth."
This is approximately 6,600 km farther than the previous record of 248,655 miles (approximately 400,171 km) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. It marks the first time in about 50 years that humanity's farthest distance travel record has been broken.
While Artemis 2 was orbiting the far side of the Moon, communication with the ground control team on Earth was temporarily lost, but it resumed as scheduled after approximately 40 minutes. During that time, the astronauts observed phenomena such as "Earthrise" — the Earth rising above the Moon — and flashes caused by meteorites striking the lunar surface. A total solar eclipse was also observed from the astronauts' perspective as the Moon blocked the Sun.
The crew also observed craters and basins while orbiting the Moon. They observed the Moon with the naked eye and secured video and photographic materials from a point approximately 4,000 miles (6,437 km) above the lunar surface. This marks the first time the far side of the Moon has been observed with human eyes rather than unmanned equipment.
