Four NASA astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft set a new distance record from Earth on April 6, completing a historic fly-around of the moon that included views of the lunar far side — a vista never before witnessed by human eyes.
The mission, covered simultaneously by outlets from New Zealand to Peru to Greece, marks the most ambitious crewed spaceflight since the Apollo era. The astronauts raced past the moon with the lunar surface “looming ever larger,” as Stuff reported, promising “magnificent views of the far side never seen before by eye.” Greek outlet Ethnos described the moment as reaching “where no human has ever been before,” while Peru’s La República confirmed all four astronauts had successfully transited the moon’s hidden hemisphere.
Artemis II is the precursor to eventual crewed lunar landings under NASA’s Artemis program, opening what mission planners call “new horizons for human space exploration.” The mission was streamed live worldwide, drawing global attention at a time when few events unite international audiences.
