Artemis II nears historic distance record with Jeremy Hansen on board
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NASA’s Artemis II mission is expected on Monday, April 6, 2026 to cross a major milestone as the Orion spacecraft surpasses the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth. Mission timelines place that moment at 1:56 p.m. Eastern Time.
NASA says Orion is expected to reach its maximum distance from Earth at 7:07 p.m., at 252,760 miles, or about 406,777 kilometres, beyond Apollo 13’s 248,655 miles. The spacecraft is also scheduled to make its closest approach to the Moon at 7:02 p.m., passing within about 4,070 miles, or roughly 6,550 kilometres, of the lunar surface.
The four-member crew includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who is flying as the first Canadian and the first non-American ever assigned to a lunar mission. Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years and is designed as a roughly 10-day test flight to validate systems needed for future Moon missions.
