Briefs · Frontier Science
Artemis II Flew Farthest. Apollo 13 Finally Lost Its Record.
Humanity has a new farthest point. It is 252,756 miles from home.
Artemis II launched on 1 April 2026, carrying four astronauts aboard Orion atop the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the first crewed flight of Orion, and the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The crew was Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. Glover was the first person of colour beyond low Earth orbit. Koch was the first woman. Hansen was the first non-American.
Orion did not land. It did not even orbit the Moon. It made its lunar leap, 4,067 miles above the lunar surface on 6 April, then turned for home.
On the way, it passed Apollo 13. That crew’s 248,655 miles, set in 1970 during an emergency, had stood for 56 years. Artemis II beat it by about 4,100 miles.
Splashdown came on 10 April in the Pacific Ocean, off San Diego, after a voyage of nearly ten days.
This is not a repeat of Apollo, but rather a rehearsal for return. The systems were the test. The distance was the proof. The Moon is close again, and this time the crew came home smiling.
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