NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft has arrived back at the Kennedy Space Center after completing its 1.4 million mile journey to the Moon and back. The space agency can now take apart the capsule and release more details!
What’s NASA planning next? Discover below the full story and more Artemis 1 Orion insights.
The Artemis 1 Orion Spacecraft Has Finally Returned Home
Artemis I was a major step forward as part of NASA’s lunar exploration efforts and set the stage for the next mission of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion to fly crew around the Moon on Artemis II, stated NASA.
On November 16, Artemis 1 began its record-breaking mission with a dramatic midnight launch atop NASA’s newest Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket.
Now, the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft made a successful comeback at the Kennedy Space Center after completing its 1.4 million-mile journey to the Moon and back at the beginning of last month.
The unmanned crew vehicle was collected by the USS Portland and transported to Naval Base San Diego on December 13. And shortly after, the capsule started an overland journey to Florida.
Splashdown.
After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, orbiting the Moon, and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts on future #Artemis missions, the @NASA_Orion spacecraft is home. pic.twitter.com/ORxCtGa9v7
— NASA (@NASA) December 11, 2022
What’s going to happen next with the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft?
NASA will remove the heat shield from the spacecraft to perform an “extensive examination” on it and learn more about how it performed during atmospheric reentry. It sure seems like a challenging task, but such a thing is necessary to reveal as much information as possible!
The space agency will also check out Moonikin Campos, a test dummy sent on Orion to gather information on potential human reactions to lunar flight. Quite impressive, isn’t it?!
Even though Artemis II will launch in 2024 at the earliest, many exciting things are scheduled this year! For example, in early 2023, NASA will reveal Artemis II’s four-person crew.
Moreover, the launch of Artemis II will pave the way for the first manned lunar landing (the Apollo program was canceled in 1972) and, eventually, a long-term NASA presence on the Moon.