Astronauts Loop Around Moon, Break Distance Record

0:00The Artemis II crew just looped around the moon's far side, hitting sites no one's seen since Apollo days. They watched the total solar eclipse from deep space, with the moon blocking the sun for nearly 54 minutes against the starry backdrop. Earth glowed faintly nearby, and the even spotted planets like Venus and Mars shining bright. Earlier in the flight, they broke the 50-year distance record from Apollo 13, pushing past 406,000 kilometers from home. Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander, sent a heartfelt message welcoming them to his old neighborhood, reminding them to soak in the views. Astronauts were blown away, calling it unreal and sci-fi level. Victor Glover said, humans aren't wired to process it, while Commander Reed Wiseman choked up naming a lunar crater after his late wife Carol. They suited up with eclipse glasses, marveling at the corona and meteor flashes on the moon. From their close pass at just 6,545 kilometers up, they snapped over 50 gigabytes of images of rugged far side, craters and basins like Orientale.

1:05Shadows along the day night line revealed cliffs and canyons, all feeding data for future landings. Now slingshot back toward Earth after 40 minutes of radio silence, this test run proves Orion's ready for the moon returns ahead, blending history, with the blueprint for what's next in space. That's your sending news today update, AI powered and always on.