Significant milestones of the Artemis II moon mission … to date

      Having just completed a historic flyby of the moon, the Artemis II crew is now on their return journey to Earth.

      NASA’s Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch, alongside the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, launched on the Orion spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center on April 1, propelled into space by the powerful SLS rocket.

      The mission is expected to last 10 days, ending with a splashdown off the coast of California.

      Artemis II is assessing the Orion’s systems in preparation for a crewed lunar landing in the Artemis IV mission, scheduled for 2028. Artemis III, which may take place next year, will evaluate a crucial docking procedure that will facilitate the Artemis IV lunar landing.

      So far, the mission has proceeded as planned—aside from a few issues with the spacecraft’s restroom— and with the crew now heading home, it's a great time to highlight some records achieved by the Artemis II mission thus far.

      1 – Farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth: On Monday, the Artemis II crew reached a record-breaking 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth before beginning their return. The previous record was 248,655 miles (400,171 km), set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.

      2 – First humans beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years: No one has ventured such a distance since Apollo 17 in 1972.

      3 – First crewed flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft: This mission marks the first occasion that humans have flown aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, which are essential to the success of NASA’s Artemis program, aimed at establishing a permanent lunar base and achieving the first human flight to Mars.

      4 – First crewed lunar mission of the Artemis program: Artemis I featured an uncrewed flight of the SLS and Orion, which also journeyed to the moon before returning to Earth. This means Artemis II is the first human mission in the Artemis era.

      5 – First woman to travel to deep space: As part of the Artemis II crew, Christina Koch has become the first woman to leave low-Earth orbit.

      6 – First Black astronaut to travel to deep space: Likewise, Victor Glover has made history as the first person of color to reach lunar distance.

      7 – First non-American to travel to the moon region: Jeremy Hansen, as a Canadian, is the first non-U.S. astronaut to take part in a lunar mission.

      8 – First time a crew of four has flown to the moon: All 10 lunar-bound Apollo missions had three crew members, while Artemis II includes four astronauts.

      With these impressive achievements already accomplished, the Artemis program is just beginning, promising many more historic milestones in the future.