NASA crew goes above and beyond - 13th April 2026

NASA: "4, 3, 2, 1, booster ignition and liftoff."

NASA astronauts have set a new record during the Artemis II moon mission. They've travelled the furthest that any person has been from Earth - a distance of 406,773 kilometres.

The crew of Apollo 13 had previously held this record. In 1970, an emergency procedure took them 400,171 kilometres away from Earth.

As they broke the record, they spoke to mission control from their Orion spacecraft, which is called Integrity. Reid Wiseman recognised the roles that others had played in this achievement.

Reid Wiseman: "From Cabin of Integrity here, as we surpass the fur, the furthest distance humans have ever travelled from planet Earth, we do so in honouring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration."

The crew spotted two fresh craters on the moon's surface as they flew overhead. They made a request to name these Integrity and Carroll, after their spacecraft and Commander Wiseman's wife. Wiseman's wife, Carroll, passed away due to cancer in 2020.

Artemis II's mission was to capture images and video of the lunar surface to support future missions. Alongside this, NASA collects important data from the spacecraft's journey. They'll improve the chances of a successful return to the moon for NASA in 2028.

Beyond that, NASA's planning to establish a moon base, which will help it to achieve other goals. A moon base could be a departure point to explore deep space. It might also help humans to reach Mars.