Artemis II breaks Apollo 13’s distance record with daring moon flyby that included a solar eclipse

HOUSTON (AP) — Emerging from behind the moon, the Artemis II astronauts pointed their capsule toward home Monday night after beholding views of the lunar far side never before witnessed and setting a new distance record for humanity.

The seven-hour flyby was the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian — a step toward landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years.

First came a prize — and bragging rights — for Artemis II.

Artemis II surpassed Apollo 13’s distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set in April 1970, right before the fly-around and intense lunar observations got started. It ended up beating i

“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Moments after breaking Apollo 13’s record, the astronauts asked permission to name two fresh lunar craters already observed. They proposed Integrity, their capsule’s name, and Carroll in honor of commander Reid Wisema...