This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
Artemis II astronauts are making their way around the moon, setting the record Monday as the farthest humans from Earth, according to The Associated Press.
The four astronauts surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
“On April 15, 1970, during the Apollo 13 mission, three explorers set the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from our home planet,” Jenni Gibbons in mission control said, The New York Times reported. “At that time, over 55 years ago, Lovell, Swigert, and Haise flew 248,655 statute miles away from Earth. Today, for all humanity, you’re pushing beyond that frontier.”
Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, responded, saying the crew was “honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration.”
“We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear. But we most importantly, choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived,” he added.
Artemis II follows Apollo 13’s path around the moon
Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing.
Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening.
While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13’s path, it’s most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis.
Pilot Victor Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity’s Holy Week brought home for him “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis amid “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.
“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.
Watch the mission in real time in the video above.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest
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