The Orion capsule returned to Earth, splashing out into the Pacific Ocean

there Orion capsule She returned swimming in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Guadalupe Island. After about 26 days and flight More than 2 million kmThus concludes the Artemis 1 mission. The pioneer of the program by which NASA intends to bring astronauts back to the moon. The ditch was done regularly and all expected tests were completed to verify the safety of the craft, in view of future missions with the astronauts. By coincidence, the re-entry took place exactly 50 years after the last moon landing of the Apollo program, which occurred in 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission.

Splashdown.

After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, orbiting the moon, and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts into the future. # Artemis missions @tweet The spacecraft is home. pic.twitter.com/ORxCtGa9v7

– NASA (@NASA) December 11, 2022

The capsule moved at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour. One of the most important tests was the efficiency of the heat shield because the capsule faced temperatures above 2,500 degrees. Now the checks will begin. When the capsule reached about 7 kilometers from the target and at a speed of about 80 kilometers per hour, the three parachutes opened and helped brake the vehicle. At an altitude of 1.5 kilometers, Orion slowed to just under 30 kilometers per hour and soon sank into the ocean. As expected, the ESU burned up in the atmosphere without any problems.

The new race to the moon is officially open and everything, this time around, is very different from the times of the Apollo program. Government and private space agencies are willing to collaborate or move independently, as is the case with Japan’s ispace company launching its first private lunar lander, just as Orion was preparing to return to Earth. It’s called the Hakuto-R and it launched from Cape Canaveral with the SpaceX Falcon 9; On board is NASA’s Lunar Flashlight instrument, the purpose of which is to search for water.