Artemis II crew to be closest to moon at 7:00 p.m. ET
NASA has said the Artemis II crew will now make its closest approach to the moon at 7:00 p.m. ET and will reach its furthest distance from Earth at 7:02 p.m. ET.
Previously, the crew was supposed to make its closest approach at 7:02 p.m. ET and reach maximum distance from the Earth at 7:07 p.m. ET.
The Orion spacecraft flies towards the moon, April 6, 2026.
NASA
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Apr 06, 2026, 2:53 PM EDT
Artemis II crew begins historic lunar flyby
The Artemis II crew's historic lunar flyby began around 2:45 p.m. ET.
The flyby, which should take around seven hours, will see the Orion spacecraft be close enough to the moon for the crew "to make detailed observations of geologic features on the lunar surface," according to NASA.
NASA said coverage will include live views of the moon taken by cameras that are mounted on Orion's solar arrays.
A visualization of the Orion spacecraft approaching the moon.
NASA
Apr 06, 2026, 2:42 PM EDT
'Make sure this record is not long lived,' Artemis II crew says
As the Artemis II astronauts broke the record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth, they received a special message from Mission Control.
The Capsule Communicator, or CAPCOM -- which is the go-between for the astronauts and Mission Control -- recalled the previous record set by the Apollo 13 crew.
"Today, for all humanity, you're pushing beyond that frontier. Integrity, over to you," Mission Control stated.
The Orion spacecraft flies towards the moon as it prepares to surpass the Apollo 13 record as the farthest astronauts to ever leave Earth, April 6, 2026.
NASA
Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen shared a message on behalf of the Artemis II crew, honoring the astronauts that came before them.
"We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear," Hansen said. "But we, most importantly, choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long lived."
Apr 06, 2026, 2:03 PM EDT
Artemis II crew sets record for farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth
The Artemis II crew has officially set the record for the farthest distance that humans have traveled from Earth, occurring at 1:57 p.m. ET.
The previous record was set in 1970 by the Apollo 13 crew, which traveled 248,655 miles from Earth.
NASA said that, at about 7:07 p.m. ET, the four astronauts will travel a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth.