In one night, the mission Artemis II brought down a symbol that we thought was untouchable: the distance record ofApollo 13. While the capsule Orion flew over the far side of the Moon, the four astronauts took humanity more than 406,000 kilometers from Earth, further than any crew before them.
This historic flyover, the first manned tour of our satellite in more than fifty years, replaces the NASA at the center of the lunar soap opera, with a crew led by Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. But behind the image of the record, Artemis II serves above all as a crucial test to prepare for a lasting return of humans to the Moon.
Artemis II defeats Apollo 13: what really happened behind the Moon?
Launch on April 1, 2026 on the SLS rocket, Orion reached its peak on April 6, grazing the lunar surface at an altitude of approximately 6,500 kilometers. Taking advantage of a free return trajectory that uses the Moon’s gravity as a springboard, the capsule found itself more than 406,000 kilometers from Earth, crushing the old record ofApollo 13 fixé à 400 171 kilomètres.
For nearly forty minutes, the dark side plunged the crew into total radio silence, without any contact with Houston. In this bubble cut off from the world, the astronauts filmed an unprecedented Earthrise and observed an eclipse where the Sun slowly disappeared behind the lunar reliefs.
Just before this passage, a posthumous audio message from Jim Lovell, commander ofApollo 13greeted the crew: “Welcome to my old neighborhood… don’t forget to enjoy the view.” Enough to directly connect Artemis II to the 1970 survival mission.
How does the Artemis II record change the space fan experience?
On board, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen took advantage of this flight to map areas that have not yet been studied, spotting two craters that they propose to name Integrity and Carroll. The second would honor the late wife of Reid Wiseman, giving the adventure a very personal dimension.
Côté Terre, the NASA transformed the event into an interactive experience thanks to the site ARROWwhich displays in real time distance, speed and trajectory ofOrion like a space simulator dashboard. The official mobile application and video streams on NASA Plus and YouTube allow you to relive the passage behind the Moon as if you were in the capsule.
For Europeans, the feat is also local: the service module designed by Airbus for theESA powers and propels Orion. Without this block attached to the back of the capsule, neither this record nor the safe return would be possible.
Artemis II: what next after this record and when will we see footsteps on the Moon again?
Orion is now heading for Earth for a critical atmospheric re-entry on April 10, its heat shield expected to withstand 2,000 degrees before splashdown in the Pacific. Before leaving, Jeremy Hansen said: “We are choosing this moment to challenge our generation and the next, to ensure that this record is short-lived.”, as a reminder thatArtemis prepares the next moon landings in the face of Chine.
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