Artemis II astronauts observe far side of moon

(The Center Square) – The astronauts of the Artemis II NASA mission made history just before 2 p.m. Eastern Monday when they traveled farther in their Orion spacecraft from the Earth than any humans have ever flown. The previous record was set by the American spacecraft Apollo 13 in 1970. A woman on the communications team at NASA Mission Control in Houston narrated the event as it occurred online. She braced the crew, everyone at Mission Control, and those watching online from around the world for the milestone. “We are standing by for the Integrity crew aboard Orion to surpass the Apollo 13 record,” she said, just moments before. She marked the occasion with a tribute to that crew and a message to the four astronauts aboard the Integrity. “On April 15, 1970, during the Apollo 13 mission, three explorers set the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from our home planet,” she said. “At