The Artemis II crew members. NASA TV/Handout via REUTERS
Human spaceflight is set to reach an unprecedented milestone as four astronauts aboard Artemis II push farther from Earth than any humans before, surpassing a decades-old record during a dramatic journey around the Moon.
Traveling inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—entered the Moon’s gravitational sphere early Monday. By the evening, they are expected to reach a peak distance of about 252,757 miles from Earth, exceeding the record set during Apollo 13 more than half a century ago.
The achievement comes as the astronauts move behind the Moon, gliding roughly 4,000 miles above its far side—an area perpetually hidden from Earth. From this vantage point, they will witness the Moon eclipsing their home planet, which will appear as a small, distant sphere against the darkness of space.
The six-hour lunar flyby, officially beginning at 2:34 p.m. ET, will temporarily cut off communication with Earth as the Moon blocks signals between the spacecraft and NASA’s Deep Space Network. During this period of blackout, the crew will operate independently while capturing detailed imagery through Orion’s windows. Using high-resolution cameras, they aim to document sunlight tracing the Moon’s edge, producing a rare perspective akin to a lunar eclipse.
Astronauts are also expected to photograph a striking visual moment as their spacecraft emerges from behind the Moon: Earth rising over the lunar horizon, a reverse view of the familiar “moonrise” seen from Earth. The scene is anticipated to highlight just how distant the crew has traveled.
Back on Earth, scientists gathered at NASA’s Johnson Space Center will closely monitor the mission. A dedicated team in the Science Evaluation Room will analyze the astronauts’ real-time descriptions and observations, drawing on the training the crew received to identify and report lunar surface features and phenomena.
The nearly 10-day mission marks the first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program, a cornerstone of the agency’s long-term exploration strategy. With plans to return humans to the Moon by 2028 and establish a sustainable presence, Artemis is also designed to lay the groundwork for eventual missions to Mars.
Having launched from Florida last week, the crew is expected to continue their journey after the flyby, carrying with them both scientific data and a historic achievement that redefines how far humans have ventured into space.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah