But Apollo 13 was never supposed to set a record. The crew were just trying to get home, and their only way back to Earth was the long way around the Moon.

What began as a mission to land on the moon became history’s most harrowing space rescue after a technical failure forced the crew of Apollo 13 into a 200,000-mile race for survival.

Fans were eager to see the Artemis II crew's recreation of the “Earthrise” photo taken by Apollo 8 on Dec. 24, 1968 by William Anders. The iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the Apollo 8 crew circumnavigated the Moon.

The crew of the Artemis II was greeted by the song “Good Morning” and a special message from Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, which was recorded before his death last year.

Charlie Duke flew to the moon in 1972 during Apollo 16, alongside John Young and Ken Mattingly. While in space, Duke left something special behind.

Half a century ago, Apollo 11 made history by landing on the moon. Artemis 2 is following in its footsteps, but this time the astronauts get better food.

The mission’s goal was to land astronauts on the Moon’s Fra Mauro region and conduct scientific experiments, including geological sampling and deployment of instruments to study lunar seismic activity.

Artemis II astronauts got a special wake-up message from legendary astronaut Jim Lovell, the late commander for the Apollo 13 mission, which he recorded before he died at age 97 last year.