Monday, April 6, 2026, is one of the most significant days for human spaceflight in more than 50 years.At 13:56 EDT (17:56 GMT) Artemis II mission is expected to break the record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth, originally set by Apollo 13 at 400,171km (248,655 miles).The crew is expected to eventually reach a maximum distance of 406,773 km (252,760 miles) from Earth at 19:07 EDT (23:07 GMT) as they perform a lunar flyby aboard the Orion spacecraft. This means Artemis II will travel about 6,602km (4,105 miles) further into space than any human in history.What is NASA’s Artemis programme?The Artemis programme is NASA’s multi-decade mission to return men and women to the moon for the first time since 1972, establish a long-term base there and eventually enable future missions to Mars by crews.The programme is currently divided into five missions: Artemis I, II, III, IV and V.Artemis I was the inaugural uncrewed test flight, which launched on November 16, 2022, and lasted 25 days. It successfully placed the Orion spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and provided crucial data for Artemis II.What is Artemis II and when did it launch?Artemis II is the first human mission of the Artemis programme.On April 1 at 18:35 EDT (22:35 GMT), the mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, carrying four astrona …
