Artemis II broke Fred Haise's distance record, but he is happy to pass it on
Summary
NASA’s Artemis II mission set a new distance record by traveling 252,756 miles from Earth, farther than any human spaceflight before. This broke the nearly 56-year-old record set by Apollo 13 astronauts, and NASA plans further missions to explore the Moon and eventually build a base on its surface.Key Facts
- Artemis II flew a crew of four astronauts around the Moon at a distance of 252,756 miles from Earth.
- This distance is farther than the Apollo 13 mission’s record of 248,655 miles, set in April 1970.
- Only five Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon are still alive, and they are all in their 90s.
- The Artemis II astronauts are in their 40s or 50s and represent a new generation of lunar explorers.
- The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, so its distance from Earth ranges and can affect how far spacecraft travel.
- NASA canceled the Gateway lunar space station project to concentrate on building a base on the Moon’s surface.
- The new lunar base will help astronauts learn to use resources on the Moon and prepare for Mars missions.
- NASA has not yet decided the new orbit or meetup point for future Artemis missions with lunar landers.
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