Artemis Orion capsule breaks distance record in space

The Orion capsule took this selfie looking back at the Moon and Earth on Monday

The Orion spacecraft, part of Nasa's Artemis I Moon mission, has set a new distance record.

The test flight saw the capsule travel 270,000 miles beyond the Earth - the furthest any spacecraft designed to carry humans has ever been.

The ship doesn't have a crew this time, but if all goes to plan, astronauts will be inside the capsule for another Artemis Moon mission in two years time.

Nasa's Artemis programme aims to return people to the Moon's surface for the first time in 50 years.

The first test flight mission, called Artemis I, blasted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on 16 November as the most powerful rocket ever built propelled the unscrewed capsule into space on a 26-day mission around the Moon.

The spacecraft is due to return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego in California on 11 December.

The previous record for the most distant point reached by a human-rated spacecraft was set by the Apollo-13 mission in April 1970.

It went out to 248,655 miles from Earth as its crew fought to navigate their way safely back home following an explosion in their capsule's service module.

• Find out more about Apollo 13 here

One of the manikins sat on board inside the Orion capsule has been nicknamed Commander Moonikin Campos in honour of Arturo Campos, a Nasa engineer who played a critical role in helping to get Apollo 13 safely back to earth.

There are no humans aboard, only some manikins covered in sensors and a Snoopy mascot (in an orange jumpsuit)

The first crewed Artemis mission is scheduled for late 2024. An Orion flight that would also see astronauts walk on the Moon's surface could happen as early as 2025 or 2026.

"Of course, Artemis builds on Apollo," Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said. 

"Not only are we going farther and coming home faster, but Artemis is paving the way to live and work in deep space in a hostile environment, to invent, to create, and ultimately to go on with humans to Mars."