“We have reached the maximum distance from Earth!” the space agency said on Twitter. The old record was set in 1970 with the space mission Apollo 13. The crew members then flew at a distance of 401,056 kilometers from Earth.
Orion began its maiden flight to the moon and back on November 16. The craft reached lunar orbit on Saturday. In early December, the craft should leave the moon and begin its return flight to Earth. It will end, if all goes well, on December 11.
In a few years, the United States wants to put people on the moon again, for the first time since 1972. The unmanned mission Artemis I is a dress rehearsal to test the safety of Orion. The next Artemis flight is scheduled for 2024. Then the spaceship must fly around the moon with four people on board. Humans should set foot on the moon again around 2025.