OUR Orion space capsule flew this Monday (5) the Moon less than 130 kilometers from its surface, a maneuver that marks the beginning of the return flight to Earth of this first mission of NASA’s Artemis program.

By making this flyby very close to the surface, the spacecraft took advantage of the moon’s gravitational pull to pick up speed on the way back.

The spacecraft took advantage of the moon’s gravitational pull to pick up speed on the return journey.

Communication with the capsule was interrupted for 30 minutes as it passed behind the far side of the moon. The object was also supposed to fly over the landing sites of the Apollo mission.

The main thrust of the European Service Module’s main engine, which powers the capsule, lasted just over three minutes.

“We are very pleased with the performance of the spacecraft,” Debbie Court, deputy director of the Orion program, later said.

When impressive images appeared on the monitors after communication was restored, Cort said at a press conference: “Everyone in the room had to stop, pause and really look … Wow, we are saying goodbye to the Moon.”

It was the last major maneuver of the mission, which began with the launch of NASA’s new megarocket Artemis on November 16, and was expected to last a total of 25 and a half days.

The Orion will now make only slight heading adjustments until it lands in the Pacific Ocean in front of the US city of San Diego, California on Sunday, December 11 at 17:40 GMT (14:40 in Brazil). It will be retrieved and taken aboard a US Navy ship.

During the mission, Orion spent about six days in remote orbit around the Moon.

A week ago, this new spacecraft broke the distance record for a habitable capsule, traveling just over 432,000 km from our planet, farther than the Apollo missions.

The capsule does not carry passengers, but the purpose of this Artemis 1 mission is to make sure the vehicle is safe to carry crew in the future.

The main goal is to test the durability of the Orion’s heat shield, the largest ever built, when entering the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km / h. It will have to withstand a temperature of 2800°C, which is about half the temperature on the surface of the Sun.

With the help of the Artemis program, the Americans intend to establish a long-term presence on the Moon in order to prepare for a flight to Mars.

The Artemis 2 mission will take astronauts to the moon, but will not land on the moon. This honor will be reserved for the Artemis 3 crew, which will land on the moon’s south pole for the first time. Officially, these missions will take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively.