Artemis II Astronauts Break Apollo 13 Record During Historic Lunar Flyby

The Artemis II crew completed a historic lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, becoming the first humans to observe the far side of the Moon in detail since the Apollo era, and the Orion spacecraft is now on its return journey to Earth. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen set a new human spaceflight distance record of from Earth during the mission. The crew passed above the lunar surface at closest approach. The spacecraft is scheduled to splash down on April 11, 2026, completing what NASA has described as a test of the SLS rocket and Orion systems under conditions that will be encountered by the Artemis IV lunar landing mission.

Forty-one silent minutes behind the Moon During the lunar flyby, the Orion spacecraft lost all contact with Earth for 41 minutes, from 0:44 until 1:25 on Tuesday morning, as the Moon blocked all communications. The crew observed the far side of the Moon for approximately six hours in total, documenting colors, textures, and surface reliefs that had not previously been directly observed by human eyes at such proximity. Among the phenomena witnessed was a total solar eclipse, in which the Moon completely blocked the solar disk for nearly 54 minutes, revealing the solar corona with a level of detail impossible to achieve from Earth. NASA released images from the flyby showing striking Earthsets from the lunar horizon, with Earth appearing as a blue disk partially in shadow over a cratered landscape, as well as a photograph of the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. The crew also reported observing impact flashes, lunar dust, and the Ohm crater during their passage. Koch described the experience in terms that went beyond the visual.

„I just had an overwhelming feeling looking at the Moon [...] It is its own body in the universe, it is not just a poster in the sky. It is a real place.” — Christina Koch via EL PAÍS

The far side of the Moon was first photographed by the Soviet probe Luna 3 in October 1959. The first humans to observe it directly were the crew of Apollo 8 in late December 1968 — Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders — though their view was partial and in less favorable lighting conditions than those available to the Artemis II crew. The previous record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth was held by the Apollo 13 crew — Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise — who reached 400,171 kilometers from Earth in 1970, passing just 254 kilometers above the lunar surface.

Frozen urine and a $23 million toilet that kept failing Even as the mission achieved its scientific and engineering objectives, the crew contended with a persistent malfunction in the Orion spacecraft's toilet system, which cost approximately 23 million dollars according to NASA. The problem began almost immediately after launch on April 1, when the crew reported a failure in the urine collection system. NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan explained that the toilet fan was stuck, preventing the system from functioning. From Earth, mission control sent repair instructions, and Koch followed the steps to address the problem.

„I am proud to call myself the space plumber.” — Christina Koch via LaVanguardia

The repair initially worked, but the system continued to present intermittent failures in subsequent days, forcing the crew to use collapsible contingency urinals as an alternative. Flight director Judd Frieling offered a technical explanation during the weekend, stating that the issue appeared to involve waste disposal from the toilet and that the team believed frozen urine had formed in the vent line. Koch also reported a separate, uncomfortable episode, communicating to mission control that she perceived what she described as a burnt heater smell coming from the hygiene compartment, prompting NASA teams to review the electrical and heating systems.

Two crews in space exchange words across 400,000 kilometers On the seventh day of the mission, as Orion left the gravitational influence of the Moon and its engines fired in the first of three trajectory correction burns toward Earth, the crew participated in what NASA described as the first communication of its kind in spaceflight history — a live call between the Orion spacecraft in deep space and the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station in low Earth orbit. Among those aboard the station was Jessica Meir, commander of the Crew-12 mission, who in 2019 performed the first all-female spacewalk alongside Koch. Koch addressed Meir directly during the exchange.

„Jessica, I always hoped we would be in space together again, but I never thought it would be like this. It is incredible. Congratulations on being commander, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your space journey.” — Christina Koch via LaVanguardia

The conversation between the two crews touched on the experience of viewing Earth from different distances — approximately 400 kilometers for the station crew versus more than 400,000 kilometers for the Artemis II crew. The Artemis II crew reflected on how the perspective from deep space changed their perception of Earth's fragility.

„What has changed most when looking at Earth is that I now notice not only its beauty, but how much darkness surrounds it. That makes it even more special.” — Artemis II crew via LaVanguardia

The call ended with a shared observation from both crews: that all of them were off planet Earth and all would return to it, a moment the station crew described as very special. The Orion spacecraft is now on a free-return trajectory, pulled by Earth's gravity toward a splashdown scheduled for April 11, 2026.

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