NASA’s Artemis II astronauts set a record, traveling 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13’s distance.

HOUSTON — Mission control in Houston marked a major milestone Monday as astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history before turning back toward home after rounding the moon.

The four-member crew reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. The milestone was achieved just before 1 p.m. Central time, according to NASA.

Now on day five of the mission, the astronauts have reached the farthest point of their journey and are heading back toward Earth, marking the halfway point.

Minutes before a planned loss of communication as their spacecraft passed behind the moon, astronaut Victor Glover shared a message with those watching on Earth.

“To all of you down there, on Earth and around the Earth, we love you from the moon,” Glover said.

Communication was lost for more than 40 minutes, as expected, while the spacecraft traveled along the moon’s far side. Contact was restored once it reemerged into view of Earth.

Throughout the day, the crew captured images of the lunar surface from the Orion spacecraft. Cabin lights were dimmed for much of the time to reduce reflections and improve photography as the spacecraft approached the moon.

In an emotional moment broadcast live, the astronauts named a lunar feature “Carroll” in honor of the late wife of mission commander Reid Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020.

“There’s a feature that’s a really neat spot on the moon, and it’s a bright spot,” one astronaut said during the broadcast. “We would like to call it Carroll.”

Back in Houston, flight controllers marked the milestone by turning their mission patches upside down — a tradition signaling the crew has reached the halfway point and begun the journey home.

NASA officials say the Artemis II mission is a critical step in the agency’s efforts to return humans to the moon.

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