Artemis II Breaks Distance Record, Receives Jim Lovell Message
Artemis II flew a lunar loop, set a human-distance record of 252,756 miles, and played a recorded message from late Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell.
CNETWatch Artemis II Live: Latest Updates From NASA's Historic Moon Mission
CNETArtemis II Astronauts Name Moon Crater After Commander Reid Wiseman's Late Wife
Chicago Sun-TimesApollo astronaut Jim Lovell left a message that Artemis II crew heard during record moon mission
TIME MagazineThe Significance of The Artemis II Moon Photos
Overview
Artemis II set a human-spaceflight distance record by reaching a maximum of 252,756 miles from Earth, NASA said.
The Orion spacecraft and its crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch—made a lunar flyby after launching April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center.
The crew heard a pre-recorded message recorded by Jim Lovell, who died at age 97 on Aug. 7, in which he welcomed them to "my old neighborhood" and wished them "Good luck and Godspeed."
During a roughly seven-hour observation period the crew surpassed Apollo 13's 248,655-mile distance, reached 252,756 miles, and came as close as 4,067 miles above the lunar surface, NASA said.
The Orion capsule is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific west of San Diego around 8:07 p.m. ET / 5:07 p.m. PT Friday, after which airbags will right the capsule and the crew is to be recovered by a Navy vessel within about two hours.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story nostalgically and celebratorily by foregrounding Jim Lovell’s recorded message and using laudatory descriptors (e.g., "NASA’s greats," "historic day") while emphasizing milestone metrics (distance records) and procedural triumphs. Quote selection supplies source content, but editorial choices (wording, emphasis, omission of critique or policy context) create a heroic narrative.