Lon a lunar mission Artemis I of NASA ended on Monday with the landing of the capsule Orion unmanned in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, following which she was picked up by the amphibious transport ship USS Portland.
Header image: The Orion capsule was recovered inside the lower deck of the USS Portland on December 11, 2022, off the coast of Baja California. The ship reached the port of San Diego two days later. (NASA)
Lifting off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16 aboard the rocket Space Launch System (SLS) NASA’s Artemis I Orion capsule spent 25.5 days of a flight that sent it farther into space and longer than any other human-powered spacecraft. During two flybys of the Moon, it approached less than 130 km from the lunar surface and embarked on a trajectory of gravitational slingshot which catapulted the spacecraft almost 434,500 km from Earth.
On the 20th day of flight, Orion captures Earth following a flyby of the Moon. (NASA)
The purpose of the mission was to test components of the Orion spacecraft in deep space conditions to see how they performed in this harsh environment, including during ultrasonic re-entry when the heat shield was subjected to high temperatures. approximately 2760°C.
According to NASA, the landing area had to be changed at the last minute due to bad weather. However, the Orion capsule, for the first time for a human-powered vessel, performed a maneuver of atmospheric rebound, that is, it slowed its speed as it left Earth’s atmosphere like a flat stone ricocheting off a pond. This maneuver not only reduced the strain on the craft, but also allowed NASA to steer the capsule to the new recovery area.
NASA’s Orion capsule landing in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA)
With help from NASA and the United States Air Force, divers from the USS Portland were able to move the capsule to the amphibious transport ship’s recovery dock, where it was recovered and secured. The Orion will now be placed on a truck and returned to Kennedy, where NASA engineers and contractors will assess the flight’s effects on the capsule and the three mannequins that replaced the living astronauts.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson:
The landing of the Orion spacecraft, which took place 50 years to the day following the landing ofApollo 17, is the crowning achievement of Artemis I. From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major milestone in the Artemis generation of lunar exploration. This wouldn’t be possible without the incredible team at NASA. For years, thousands of people have invested themselves in this mission, which inspires the whole world to work together to reach the pristine cosmic shores. Today is a huge victory for NASA, the United States, our international partners, and all of humanity.
Announced on the NASA website: Splashdown! NASA’s Orion Returns to Earth After Historic Moon Mission.
