ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Two balloonists crossing over the Pacific Ocean from Japan surpassed a distance record on Thursday for gas-filled balloon travel and are heading toward a landing in Mexico's Baja California in two days, officials said. 
 
 Balloon Pilots Troy Bradley, an American, and Leonid Tiukhtyaev, a Russian, who are collectively dubbed "Two Eagles" had traveled more than 5,260 miles (8,465 km) by Thursday afternoon, according to a tracking website set up for their journey. 
 
 They have surpassed the distance record of 5,209 miles (8,383 km) for gas balloons set on the only previous manned trans-Pacific flight, in 1981. The pilots are more than 250 miles (400 km) west-northwest of San Francisco, California. 
 
 When they eclipsed the distance record, a round of applause broke out in the mission control room at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum in New Mexico and people there posed for pictures with the mile counter, said Art Lloyd Jr, a mission support control worker at the site. 
 
 "We're really excited and just now concentrating on getting them to a nice safe landing," Lloyd said. 
 
 Meanwhile, the pilots who took off on Saturday from Japan are pursuing a flight duration record of 137 hours aloft set in 1978 by a team crossing the Atlantic. That is expected to happen on Friday morning, Lloyd said. 
 
 The pilots are on track to land in Baja California, in Mexico, on Saturday, said officials with the Balloon Museum. 
 
 The balloon, which relies solely on an enclosed chamber of helium gas for lift, is different from hot air balloons and so-called Roziere balloons, which rely on both hot air and lighter-than-air gas. Roziere balloons have by far the greatest range of the three types. 
 
 Lloyd said the cramped conditions of the capsule has not affected the pilots, who have subsisted on a diet that includes fresh fruit, freeze-dried hikers' meals, beef jerky and the occasional hot meal from a small stove. They are equipped with cold weather gear including sleeping bags and a heater. 
 
 They had earlier taken a track that would have brought them to southwestern Canada, but because of weather changes, they opted for the path toward Mexico, officials said. 
 
 Their records must be officially certified by the National Aeronautic Association and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, which can take months, a mission spokeswoman said. 
 
 (Reporting by Joseph J. Kolb; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler) ||||| ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two pilots in a helium-filled balloon on a record-setting journey across the Pacific Ocean entered the final leg of their trip Friday as they traveled along the California coast for an expected landing somewhere in Mexico. 
 
 In Monday, Jan. 26, 2015 photo provided by the Two Eagles Balloon Team, Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. JST Sunday, Jan. 25,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo provided by the Two Eagles Balloon Team, Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. JST Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in their... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo provided by the Two Eagles Balloon Team, Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. JST Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in their... (Associated Press) 
 
 The pilots made history Thursday, first matching and then surpassing the 5,209-mile (8,383-kilometer) official world distance record for human flight in a gas balloon. Their next milestone is a 1978 duration record of 137 hours, 5 minutes and 50 seconds in the air in a traditional gas balloon — a mark that's considered the "holy grail" of ballooning achievements. The Two Eagles team expected to surpass that Friday morning. 
 
 They hope to land Saturday somewhere on the peninsula of Baja California, where volunteer chase crews were being organized to help with the landing. 
 
 The balloon team originally planned to cross into North America in Canada but shifted the plans because of changing weather. They are now catching a wind pattern that will take them south toward Mexico. 
 
 The balloon was about 400 miles northwest of San Francisco when it hit the distance mark. Everyone inside the control room had their smartphones pointed at the screen to document the moment. 
 
 "There it is! There it is!" shouted team members at the flight's mission control in Albuquerque as a giant screen showed the helium-filled Two Eagles balloon passing the record set by the Double Eagle V in 1981. 
 
 In a matter of hours, they hit another milestone in similar fashion when they reached the 5,260-mile mark. That's the distance — 1 percent more than the current record — they needed to meet in their quest to establish a record under international aviation rules. 
 
 The distance still has to be confirmed by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, a process that can take weeks. 
 
 "We're not taking any time to celebrate," said Steve Shope, head of mission control. "We have a lot of work we have to do, and we're just taking this flight one hour at a time." 
 
 The Two Eagles pilots, Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia, are aiming to set both distance and duration records with their flight from Saga, Japan, which began shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday Japan time. 
 
 The duration record was set in 1978 when Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman made the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight. 
 
 The pilots had been aiming for Canada until a high-pressure ridge formed off the U.S. West Coast, forcing a sweeping right turn toward Mexico, where they now plan to land on Saturday. 
 
 The shifting weather patterns resulted in a flurry of decision-making that made for a hard night for the pilots and mission control. Shope said the pilots were in better spirits Thursday after getting some sleep, but he acknowledged that being on oxygen for that many days and the high altitude can take a physical toll. 
 
 Because weather conditions vary at different altitudes, the pilots traded speed and altitude throughout Thursday so the balloon would track to the south. 
 
 "It's a pretty sophisticated dance up there," said Ray Bair, a member of the mission control team. 
 
 The balloon is outfitted with an array of monitors and other instruments that are tracking its course and compiling data to be submitted to the record-keepers. With a massive, helium-filled envelope and a specially-designed carbon fiber-composite capsule, it was designed to stay aloft for up to 10 days, but the loss of gas and ballast has shortened that time by a couple of days. 
 
 The last task will be a safe landing. 
 
 Sand dunes along the peninsula were looking like the best option, Bair said. There are more favorable spots immediately along the Mexican coast, but then come the mountains. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Online: 
 
 http://pacificballoon.com/tracking/index.php 
 
 https://twitter.com/twoeaglesteam ||||| ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An international team has launched its helium-filled balloon from Japan in a bid to reach North America and break two major records en route. 
 
 Pilots Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday Japan time. 
 
 "Everything went just like a textbook," said Letitia Hill, social media director for the team's mission control in Albuquerque. 
 
 Unfavorable weather changes scuttled two previous launch attempts more than a week ago. 
 
 The pilots are looking to reach North America, an attempt that will put them on course to break a distance record of 5,208 miles. They also want to break the flight-duration record set in 1978 when Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman made the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight. That record of 137 hours in the air in a traditional gas balloon is considered the holy grail of ballooning achievements. 
 
 The team is expected to land in the next 5 ½ days, Hill said. But where they will land is anyone's guess. 
 
 "That's going to keep us on the edge of our seats for this mission," Hill said after watching the launch at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. 
 
 Bradley and Tiukhtyaev's balloon — dubbed Two Eagles — is outfitted with a high-tech navigation system, basic necessities such as a first-aid kit, and equipment to communicate with the command center. 
 
 It will fly at an altitude of at least 15,000 feet. The pilots will have oxygen masks and will be bundled up. The temperature inside their capsule will be about 50 degrees. 
 
 The pilots have to be physically fit to endure several days inside the capsule, with little sleep and limited oxygen. In addition to the record attempts, the flight is being monitored by researchers at Arizona State University who are studying the effects of fatigue on cognitive ability. 
 
 It's possible the pilots could be aloft for 10 days, which is the outer limit of the balloon's capabilities, the team said. 
 
 Once the hatch is closed and the pilots are inside, it's much like a video game, monitoring the GPS and other systems for updates on weather conditions, speed and altitude, Bradley told The Associated Press in October.
– Two balloonists who took off from Japan early on Sunday have sailed past the world distance record and are still in the sky. American Troy Bradley and Russian Leonid Tiukhtyaev— the "Two Eagles"—passed the old record of 5,261 miles yesterday and are due to pass the balloon duration record of 137 hours aloft, set during the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight in 1978, some time today, reports the BBC. "We're not taking any time to celebrate,'' the head of mission control says. "We have a lot of work we have to do, and we're just taking this flight one hour at a time." A worker at mission control, which is based in a balloon museum in Albuquerque, tells Reuters that the balloonists are doing fine despite cramped conditions in the capsule, where they are equipped with cold-weather gear and are living on freeze-dried hikers' meals. The men had originally planned to land in Canada, but they changed course because of weather conditions and are due to land in Baja California, Mexico, on Saturday. Chase crews are being organized to help the landing, which mission control says will probably be among sand dunes on the peninsula, the AP reports.