Around ten days after its launch, the “Orion” capsule of NASA’s “Artemis 1” moon mission set a distance record. The US space agency said on Twitter that it was more than 249,000 miles (over 400,000 kilometers) from Earth.
This is the longest distance ever for a human-made spacecraft. According to a previously distributed press release, the previous record was set more than 50 years ago by the “Apollo 13” mission with 248,655 miles.
There are no people on board the “Orion” capsule, astronauts are only to fly on the “Artemis 2” mission planned for 2024. Shortly before the record, “Orion” swung into the orbit of the moon. After months of postponement, the “Artemis 1” mission set off on a first test launch on November 16 (local time). The capsule is expected to return to earth on December 11 after a flight of around two million kilometers.
With the “Artemis” program, named after the Greek goddess of the moon, US astronauts are expected to land on the moon again in the coming years, including a woman and a non-white person for the first time.
