The Orion capsule successfully splashed down into the Pacific Ocean on 11 December at 9:40am PST (Pacific Standard Time), completing Artemis I, the first test flight in a programme to return humans to the Moon’s surface.
“The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day after the Apollo 17 Moon landing – 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 step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration,” says NASA administrator Bill Nelson.
The spacecraft used aerobraking to slow from 40,000km/h to just 32km/h, during which time the heatshield withstood temperatures up to 2,760ºC. It then deployed its 11 parachutes in sequence to cushion the final fall back to Earth. The capsule has now been recovered for inspection.
Artemis I’s flight was longer and took the capsule further than any previous human-rated spacecraft has achieved before. Its success means the first crewed test should hopefully take place by 2024, with the first landing mission as soon as 2025 or 2026. www.nasa.gov