Artemis Two Crew Breaks Lunar Record, Names Craters

0:00It's April 7th, Sydney News Today starts now, AI powered and ready. The Artemis II crew just nailed their lunar flyby, cruising deeper into space than ever by smashing Apollo 13's record distance of 4, 100,171 kilometers at 356 am, Australian Eastern Standard Time. This marks humanity's first moon mission since 1972, crewed by three Americans and one Canadian aboard Orion, now locked in for the trip home after a seven-hour loop. They skimmed within 6,545 kilometers of the dusty surface, hitting over two dozen targets with high-powered cameras and even iPhones for close-ups of craters and basins like the massive Orientale. Moments after the record break, the team got emotional, naming two fresh craters, integrity after their capsule and carol for Commander Reed, Weisman's wife who passed from cancer in 2020. First Float, Hugs Happened, and Weisman called Abuse Majestic while snapping Earth and

1:02Moon together. Kicking off the day was a wake-up call from Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell, welcoming them to his old neighborhood with the Apollo 8 patch. On board for extra history, they caught a total solar eclipse, spotted planets like Venus and Saturn, and noted snowy bright peaks. These never-before-seen far-side shots are dropping soon from NASA, paving the way for Artemis III docking practice next year and a South Pole, landing on Artemis IV in 2028, reminding us we're all in this cosmic ride together.