Artemis II completes record-setting trip around moon

Astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history after completing a lunar flyby and are now heading back, the US space agency said Monday.

The Orion spacecraft reached a maximum distance of about 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth, surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970, it said.

During the mission, the four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — observed the moon’s far side and witnessed a solar eclipse visible only from space.

The spacecraft also made its closest approach to the moon at about 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) above the surface before beginning its return trajectory, according to NASA.

US President Donald Trump spoke live with the crew, praising the mission and future exploration plans.

“People haven't been there in a long time…but it's going to be more and more prevalent because we're going to be doing a lot of traveling,” Trump said, adding that astronauts would “ultimately do the whole big trip to Mars.”

“Your mission paves the way for America's return to the lunar surface very soon,” he added.