The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission reached the furthest point that any human has been from Earth on Monday, cruising along a path in the Moon's gravitational sphere of influence that will soon take them over the shadowed, lunar far side.
The Artemis II crew, flying in their Orion capsule since launching from Florida last week, awoke around 10:50 a.m. ET for their sixth flight day to a recorded message from late Apollo 8 and 13 astronaut Jim Lovell.
"Welcome to my old neighborhood," said Lovell, who died last year at 97. "It's a historic day, and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view... good luck and godspeed."
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen later on Monday were due to reach their maximum distance from Earth of roughly 252,760 miles, some 4,105 miles (6,606 km) beyond the record held by Lovell and his Apollo 13 crew for 56 years.
