The current human-distance record, set in April 1970 by the three astronauts of NASA's Apollo 13 mission, is 248,655 miles (400,171 km). Artemis 2 will set the new mark on Monday (April 6), when its Orion capsule loops around the far side of the moon and starts heading back to Earth.

The Orion capsule carrying four astronauts in NASA's Artemis II mission executed a key thruster firing on Thursday that will kick the crew out of Earth's orbit and on a path toward the moon, committin...

On Day 6, the astronauts will loop around the far side of the moon, the first humans to visit — from afar — in more than half a century.