SPACE — On December 11, 2022, NASA’s unmanned Orion capsule returned safely to Earth, ending the Artemis 1 mission to the moon. One year after the mission, NASA shared a video of how Orion returned to Earth and flashed through the Earth’s atmosphere.
The video was shared on X (Twitter) on Monday, December 11 2023 local time, or Tuesday December 12 Indonesian time. In addition to the 1 minute video, NASA includes full video link 25 minutes long.
However, Space.com has summarized the video in less than 10 minutes which can be watched below:
Artemis 1 begins on November 16, 2022, when the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket launches an uncrewed Orion from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the first liftoff for SLS, the most powerful rocket currently in service, and the second for Orion.
Also read: Today’s History: The Moon-Mars Orion Capsule flies for the first time
Artemis 1 Orion arrived in lunar orbit on November 25, 2022 and stayed there for almost a week before starting the long journey back to Earth. On December 11, 2022, the capsule hit our planet’s thick atmosphere at a speed of about 39,400 kph. This poses a serious challenge to the heat shield.
The heat shield passed the test, although it was not perfect. “Some of the charcoal material eroded differently than what our computer models predicted and what was predicted in ground testing,” said Howard Hu, NASA’s Orion Program manager, quoted by Space.com.
According to him, Orion faced the release of more charred material than the mission team had expected. Currently, NASA is preparing for Artemis 2, which is the first flight of the Artemis program carrying astronauts. This means that SLS and Orion will be back in action.
Artemis 2 will send four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth without landing. They are Reid Wiseman from NASA, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
The plan is that Artemis 2 will be launched in 2024. If the mission is successful, Artemis 3 will depart and land astronauts on the lunar surface in late 2025 or 2026.
Also read: NASA’s Orion capsule returns to Earth, how does it pass through Earth’s atmosphere?
Overall, the Artemis mission wants to establish a permanent human presence on and around the moon by the end of the decade. Next, the mission will lead to a human presence on Planet Mars. “It could be in the next few decades,” NASA officials said.
2023-12-14 14:06:00
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