HOUSTON: The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission flew on Monday to the deepest point in space reached by any human, sailing along a path of lunar gravitational pull en route to a first-ever crewed flyby over the perpetually shadowed far side of the moon.
The Artemis II crew, riding in their Orion capsule since launching from Florida last week, began their sixth day of spaceflight as they awoke at around 10:50 a.m. ET to a recorded message from the late NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who flew aboard the Cold War-era Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 moon missions.
“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who died last year at age 97. “It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view... good luck and Godspeed.”
In this photo provided by NASA, Artemis II mission specialist and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen enjoys a shave inside the Orion spacecraft during Flight Day 5 and ahead of the crew's lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
The four Artemis astronauts set a new spaceflight record on Monday as they exceeded the maximum 248,000-mile distance from Earth reached in 1970 by Apollo 13 after a nearly catastrophic spacecraft malfunction cut short that mission, forcing Lovell and his two crewmates to use the moon’s gravity to help return them safely to Earth.
