Bottom line: Astronauts on most lunar landing missions will likely not exceed Artemis II’s distance from Earth, but it is conceivable that on some occasions, circumstances will align to take a crew slightly beyond the 252,756-mile mark. The sure bet will be when someone finally hits Mars.
“Big disappointment”
Haise, the only Apollo 13 astronaut still alive, didn’t care much for the record he and his teammates set in 1970. This was a consolation prize of sorts for Haise. You probably know the story of Apollo 13’s failed landing on the Moon and the high-level, around-the-clock effort to bring the crew home.
Yet, of the more than 100 billion people who have set foot on Earth in human history, Artemis II astronauts have gone further from the cradle than anyone else. Sure, it’s not walking on the moon, but it’s more than just common sense.
Haise, 92, spoke to Ars earlier this month as Artemis II returned to Earth. We present our conversation below, lightly edited for clarity.
Ars: How closely have you followed the Artemis II mission?
Fred Haise: Not really close. Today I did not see anything. I just came home from my great-grandson’s baseball game. I see, from their projected flight plan, they have passed the Moon, sort of on their cruise back toward Earth for reentry. I have seen the pictures taken by him, which are excellent. They have better cameras and better instruments than we have on Apollo, because it actually looks like they got much higher-resolution pictures from that altitude than we did.
Ars: I think all this will bring back some memories for you.
Highs: Vaguely. When they happen on Friday, if you go to the next day, Saturday, the 11th, that’s 56 years since I launched it. So, yes, I’ve lived many lives, in the shuttle program, then in the business world. It occurred a long time ago.
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