New frontier: Artemis astronauts break space distance record - The Straits Times
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Artemis II, the first crewed test flight of NASA Artemis Program, has successfully broken the half-century-old space distance record previously held by Apollo 13. During its uncrewed lunar flyby, the Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, ventured further from Earth than any human crew has before, marking a critical operational milestone for future deep space endeavors. This achievement is crucial not only as a technical validation for the Orion spacecraft and its life support systems but also as a profound signal of humanity's renewed ambition in deep space exploration. It paves the way for the Artemis Program ultimate goal of returning humans to the Moon, establishing a sustained lunar presence via the Lunar Gateway, and ultimately preparing for crewed missions to Mars, intensifying a nascent "Space Race" dynamic with other global powers.