Jamie Carter
Senior Contributor
I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky
Dec 11, 2022
NASA's Orion spacecraft shown splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 9:40 ... [+]NASA
NASA’s Orion spacecraft has returned to Earth after an epic 25-day, 1.3 million miles/2.1 million kilometers journey around and beyond the Moon.
As it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. ET (17:40 UTC) Orion was described by Rob Navias, NASA communicator as “America’s new “ticket to ride” to the Moon and beyond.”
As Orion entered Earth’s atmosphere at over 23,000 mph its heatshield reached 5,000ºF. Air friction then slowed the spacecraft to about 300 mph before its parachute opened and slowed it enough for a safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego.
It landed about five miles from the recovery ship USS Portland.
Artemis I, Flight Day 5. Orion spacecraft takes a selfie while approaching the Moon ahead of the ... [+]NASA
“The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing – is the crowning achievement of Artemis I,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
During its epic journey, Orion and the European Service Model (ESM) that supplied its power (built by the European Space Agency) entered an elliptical orbit of the Moon that saw it get to within 62 miles above its surface and about 40,000 miles beyond it.
That’s farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.
On our way to the Moon the flight control team used the cameras on the Orion's solar wings to do a ... [+]NASA
The un-crewed Artemis-I mission was the first test flight of the Orion spacecraft, a capsule somewhat reminiscent of the Apollo capsules that took men to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s.
It also saw the successful first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world.
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 step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration,” said Nelson.
NASA’s Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft creates a streak of white light as it soars ... [+]NASA/KEVIN DAVIS
Orion launched on November 15, 2022 aft atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the largest rocket constructed since the agency’s Saturn V “Moon rocket” was last used in 1973.
Standing 322 ft. high, the SLS is also a “Moon rocket,” showing off its 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kg) of thrust as it lifted the Orion capsule into orbit.
Artemis I is the first of three Artemis missions on the schedule, with Artemis II in 2024 slated to take four crew. The first crewed lunar flyby of the 21st century, Artemis-II will be a repeat of Artemis-1, but with four astronauts on board to test Orion’s life support systems.
The shorter 10-day mission will begin with launch and two orbits of the Earth before it moves into a highly elliptical orbit.
On flight day 13, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it ... [+]NASA
Then comes Artemis III, probably in 2025. This 30 day mission will see Orion—with four astronauts inside—rendezvous with an embryonic Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, before one female astronaut and one male astronaut descend in a SpaceX Starship vehicle to the lunar surface close to Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The mission will involve four spacewalks in 6.5 days.
It will be the first time astronauts have landed on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 left the Moon in December, 1972.
“With Orion safely returned to Earth we can begin to see our next mission on the horizon which will fly crew to the Moon for the first time as a part of the next era of exploration,” said Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “This begins our path to a regular cadence of missions and a sustained human presence at the Moon for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.”
Artemis I, Flight Day 5. Orion spacecraft takes a selfie while approaching the Moon ahead of the ... [+]NASA
NASA confirmed last week that it has finalized a $3.2 billion contract with Boeing to continue manufacturing core and upper stages for future SLS rockets for Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
That contract includes SLS core stages for missions up to and including the Artemis V and VI, which will help build NASA’s Lunar Gateway’s habitation module.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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I'm an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer writing about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel, astronomy and space exploration. I'm the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com and the author of "A Stargazing Program for Beginners: A Pocket Field Guide" (Springer, 2015), as well as many eclipse-chasing guides.
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