NASA’s Artemis II mission sets stage for 2028 moon landing

(NEXSTAR) – Four astronauts went farther from Earth on Monday than anyone ever before. 

“We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived,” Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman said. 

Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen made history Monday. 

They surpassed the 248,655-mile distance from Earth record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. It’s part of Artemis II — the first manned moon mission in more than 50 years. 

“We are having a blast up here, and the view of the moon is absolutely amazing,” Wiseman said. 

The commander also sent a message to his daughters back on Earth, making a heart shape with his hands, and proposed naming a crater after his late wife. 

“It’s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll,” he said. 

The flight sets the stage for NASA’s plans to put two astronauts on the moon in 2028. Crew members photographed and recorded observations of parts of the far side of the moon never before seen by the human eye. All of it was livestreamed by NASA. 

“I and hopefully many other space fans out there will have their Pink Floyd album on, because we’re going to be looking at the dark side of the moon,” The Planetary Society Board Member Dr. Newton Campbell Jr. said. 

Campbell says this mission is all in preparation for the next moon landing. 

“Artemis II is really the test flight, going around the moon and doing some great science while we’re making that trip,” Campbell said. 

The crew is taking a figure-eight course through space, with a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday. 

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