After 25.5 days and 1.4 million miles in space, the unmanned Orion spacecraft splashed down near Guadalupe Island near the California Peninsula at approximately 1:40 a.m. BST, marking the success of NASA’s milestone Artemis I mission and the start of the next manned mission, Artemis II.

During the mission around the moon, the Orion spacecraft reportedly reached within 60 miles (about 96.6 kilometers) of the moon and reached the farthest point in space, nearly 270,000 miles (about 435,000 kilometers) from Earth.

According to the report, the Orion capsule entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 24,500 mph, while its heat shield withstood a temperature of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which could not be simulated on Earth, which validates its reliability as a manned spacecraft.

When it reached an altitude of about 24,000 feet above the ground, the capsule then deployed its parachute to complete the deceleration and has now completed the recovery. NASA also said it would obtain data from the ship’s sensor-equipped dummy model in order to prepare for future missions to the moon involving real people.

“This flight test is an important step in Artemis’ lunar exploration program, from the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to its extraordinary journey around the moon and back to Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “Today is also a tremendous victory for NASA, the United States, our international partners and all of humanity.”

▲ A view of Earth captured by the Orion spacecraft as it begins its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. (Image source: NASA)

The post NASA’s Orion spacecraft has now returned to Earth after a 25.5-day journey into space appeared first on TechGoing.

On Dec. 1 local time, NASA announced that the unmanned spacecraft successfully ignited its engines and began its return to Earth. The ignition began at 4:54 p.m. EDT and lasted less than two minutes, according to NASA live commentator Shaneequa Vereen.

“Orion made a successful ignition in a long retrograde orbit of 1 minute and 45 seconds,” Vereen said, adding that the spacecraft’s solar panels can be seen gently rocking back and forth during the NASA live broadcast, with a “tiny Earth” shining in the background. Vereen said.

Orion has now begun its 10-day journey home, according to the report. If all goes according to plan, it will return to the arms of Mother Earth on December 11, eventually crash-landing off the coast of California, where NASA and the U.S. Navy have already begun training for the recovery that will mark the end of the Artemis 1 mission.

Artemis 1 is a test of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to ensure that both are flightworthy and can safely send astronauts into deep space and back.

If Artemis 1 goes as planned, the next mission, Artemis 2, will put astronauts in lunar orbit in 2024, followed by Artemis 3 by 2025.

So far, Artemis 1 has completed its mission, according to NASA. Project managers say the SLS launch demonstrates that the launch vehicle is fully compliant with expected standards.

“The first launch of the SLS rocket was nothing short of exciting,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager. He added, “While our Orion mission is still in progress and we continue to learn as we fly, the rocket system has operated as designed and expected in every situation.”

The post NASA Artemis 1 mission successfully completed, Orion spacecraft leaves lunar orbit for home appeared first on TechGoing.

NASA has now provided updated information on Artemis 1. “Orion has been performing well so far,” Jim Geffre, spacecraft integration manager, said at a NASA news conference Friday, “and all systems have exceeded expectations from a performance standpoint.”

The Orion spacecraft will reach the moon on Nov. 21, and it will be “closest” to the moon at about 20:15 GMT on the 21st, according to the report. At that time, the spacecraft will perform the first of four main engine burns planned by NASA for the mission, and then Orion will orbit slightly above 130 kilometers above the lunar surface.

A second engine burn will also be performed four days later, sending Orion into a distant lunar orbit before eventually placing the spacecraft in an Earth return orbit, flight director Jeff Radigan said. If all goes according to plan, Orion will fall into the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11.

The flight marks Orion’s first breakout from Earth orbit, and the spacecraft completed a two-orbit test flight around Earth in 2014. A successful flight will pave the way for a manned mission to the moon and eventually help NASA’s goal of returning to the moon, achieving the first manned moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

According to publicly available information, twelve people have landed on the moon in history. The Apollo module landed two people on the moon on each of the six NASA missions over a 41-month period beginning July 20, 1969. The first lunar landings were made by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11. Cernan and Jack Schmidt on Apollo 17 on December 14, 1972 were the last men to land on the Moon to date. (Apollo 13 had an accident so returned to Earth early)

Meanwhile, NASA also released a “selfie” of the Orion manned spacecraft on its way to the moon, looking like a flat boat, sailing alone in the dark universe. It is reported that the Orion manned spacecraft installed 16 cameras, designed to carry out a comprehensive examination of the spacecraft, used to record the important events of the mission, including the Earth-Moon images.

The post NASA: Orion spacecraft exceeded expectations and will reach the moon on November 21 appeared first on TechGoing.