NASA's Artemis II crew broke Apollo 13's 53-year-old record for farthest human travel from Earth at 400,171 kilometers and prepared for Monday's lunar flyby passing within 4,066 miles of the Moon's surface, the closest human approach in over 50 years. The four astronauts captured unprecedented human-eye views of the Orientale basin using standard cameras including Nikon D5s and GoPros, with images attracting millions of social media likes despite commentators like Chris Lintott noting their artistic rather than scientific value. The 10-day mission occurs amid intense geopolitical competition with China, which collected the first far side samples in 2024, and budgetary pressure as President Trump cuts scientific funding while private operators like SpaceX raise performance standards. A successful mission would position the US ahead in the space race and validate NASA's path toward a potential 2028 lunar landing.
Story comments
Loading comments…