President Donald Trump has congratulated the crew of NASA's Artemis II mission on a call to congratulate them on their record-breaking flight around the moon. The president praised the astronauts, describing them as "modern-day pioneers" and "the pioneers" who have made history and "made all America really proud." The Artemis II crew made a record-setting trip on Monday, April 6, traveling near the far side of the moon, reaching a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth and surpassing the Apollo 13 distance record set in 1970 by over 4,000 miles. The mission began on April 1 with a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but the astronauts were allowed to leave Earth orbit on April 3. They are now on their way home to complete the 10-day mission with their landing in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.