Desk Correspondent , Washington DC - NASA's Artemis II crew has shattered the record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth, surpassing the Apollo 13 milestone set in 1970. On April 6, 2026, at approximately 1:57 p.m. EDT, the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen reached 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth, eclipsing the previous mark during their lunar flyby.

The crew will hit a peak distance of about 252,760 miles (406,778 km) later that evening, traveling beyond the Moon's far side before looping back for a Pacific splashdown. This surpasses Apollo 13's record—set during that mission's emergency lunar slingshot—by over 4,000 miles, marking the first time humans have ventured this far since the Apollo era.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen captured the moment's significance, describing the view as "unbelievable" and urging future explorers not to let the record stand too long. The mission's success validates Orion's deep-space capabilities and paves the way for Artemis III's planned lunar landing.