Artemis II Crew Returns to Earth After Historic Moon Flyby, Breaking Distance Record
NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, after a nine-day mission that included the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. The four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, breaking Apollo 13's distance record. Victor Glover became the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Four NASA astronauts returned to Earth on April 10, 2026, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California after a nine-day mission that took them around the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Artemis II crew, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, launched on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission set a new distance record for human spaceflight. The crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13's record of 248,655 miles. Their total travel distance was 694,481 miles.
Victor Glover became the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch became the first woman to do so. Jeremy Hansen became the first non-U.S. citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The crew performed a lunar flyby on April 6, capturing images of the lunar surface and a solar eclipse. They named their Orion spacecraft "Integrity."
The mission tested the Orion spacecraft's life support systems with humans aboard and evaluated how the vehicle performs during crew exercise, emergency procedures, and with spacesuits in use. The crew also conducted scientific investigations, including a study of human tissue response to microgravity and deep space radiation.
NASA modified the reentry trajectory for Artemis II after unexpected erosion of the heat shield was observed following the uncrewed Artemis I mission. The agency said the changes worked as planned.
The mission is a key step toward Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon's surface. SpaceX and Blue Origin are both involved in planning for that mission. SpaceX also filed a confidential IPO in April, with analysts projecting a valuation above $1 trillion.
