OUR NASA Orion Space Capsulelanded safely in the Pacific this Sunday (11), completing the Artemis 1 mission, a journey of more than 25 days around the moon with the goal of returning humans to Earth’s natural satellite in a few years.

Landing at sea occurred in front of the island of Guadalupe in Mexico at 09:40 local time (14:40 GMT).

The Artemis program plans to send a woman and a non-white person to the moon for the first time – Photo: NASA / Disclosure / ND

“This day marks a great achievement for NASA, the United States, our international partners and all of humanity,” Space Agency Director Bill Nelson said in a press release.

The uncrewed capsule on this test flight re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at 40,000 km/h and had to withstand temperatures of up to 2,800 degrees Celsius, half the temperature of the Sun.

The primary purpose of the mission was to test the Oregon heat shield, the largest ever built, at five meters in diameter.

The spacecraft’s dizzying descent was halted first by the atmosphere and then by a series of at least 11 parachutes until it reached a speed of about 30 km/h on touching the water.

splashdown.

Traveling 1.4 million miles in space, orbiting the Moon and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts into the future. #Artemis mission, @NASA_Orion spaceship at home. pic.twitter.com/ORxCtGa9v7

— NASA (@NASA) December 11, 2022

“We had an absolutely perfect sea landing,” said Melissa Jones, who is in charge of NASA rescue operations.

Shortly thereafter, helicopters flew over the spacecraft without visible damage. Orion had to be in the air for about two hours, which is much longer than if the astronauts were on board, in order to collect information, mainly about the heat generated inside.

Divers will then install cables into the capsule to lift it to USS Portland, an amphibious transport vessel whose stern is partially submerged. The water would then be pumped inwards, allowing Orion to slowly descend onto a platform specifically designed to support him.

The operation should last between four and six hours from the moment of disembarkation at sea.

USS Portland will then head to San Diego, California, where the capsule will be landed.

2.2 million kilometers

The success of this mission was critical to NASA, which has poured tens of billions of dollars into the Artemis return program to the moon.

In addition to returning people to the moon, their goal is to prepare for a future trip to Mars.

The first test flight was made in 2014, but the capsule did not leave the Earth’s orbit and entered the atmosphere more slowly, at a speed of about 32,000 km/h.

In total, Orion has covered more than 2.2 million kilometers in space this time since its takeoff on November 16, on the first flight of NASA’s new SLS mega-rocket that launched it.

The spacecraft flew over the moon at a distance of 130 km from its surface and moved to a distance of more than 430,000 km from the Earth – farther than any other spacecraft to date.

Artemis 2 and 3

Obtaining the capsule will allow NASA to collect important data for future missions.

Orion will provide information on the state of the spacecraft after the flight, as well as the accelerations and vibrations experienced on board, and the performance of the vest placed on a dummy inside the capsule, to test human radiation protection during flight. flight space travel.

Some components of the capsule are expected to be reused in the Artemis 2 mission, which is already in an advanced planning stage.

This second mission, scheduled for 2024, will take a crew to the Moon, albeit without a landing.

NASA is expected to announce the names of the selected astronauts shortly.

Artemis 3, officially scheduled for 2025, will take a spacecraft to the moon’s south pole for the first time, where there is water in the form of ice.

Only twelve people, all white, set foot on the lunar surface during the Apollo mission, most recently in 1972, 50 years ago.

The Artemis program plans to send a woman and a person of color to the moon for the first time.

The goal is to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, with a base on its surface and a space station in orbit.

Learning to live on the Moon will test all the technologies needed for a multi-year trip to Mars, possibly in the late 2030s.