The four Artemis II mission astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft made stellar history at approximately 1:56 p.m. EDT Monday, setting a new record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human.
By Thomas Wong, Daily Caller News Foundation
With four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters at their backs generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust, three Americans from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — as well as one from the Canadian Space Agency — fixed their gazes towards the heavens Wednesday evening to help advance U.S. ambitions for a permanent lunar colony and an eventual manned mission to Mars.
The 10-day mission launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Fla., carrying commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. It also bore the well wishes, hopes, and ambitions of the many across the world, ranging from children to die-hard fans of space exploration.