Five days after leaving the Earth, the Orion capsule reached its closest point to the Moon on Monday (21), reaching about 130 kilometers from the surface of our natural satellite.
This maneuver marks a crucial stage of the Artemis 1 mission, which carries an unmanned capsule in preparation for the return of humans to the Moon.
Orion was launched from the Spatial Launch System (SLS) mega rocket on November 16. After five days of travel, it reached lunar orbit.
At 9:44 (Brasilia time) this Monday, it started its engines, entered the far side of the satellite and reached the minimum distance from its surface.
Thanks to the manoeuvre, the vehicle has gained the necessary momentum to position itself in a more distant orbit which, on the night of November 25, will bring it to 432,000 kilometers from the Earth.
This path is called a “very retrograde orbit”: the capsule will travel in the opposite direction to the way the Moon moves around the Earth. From that moment Orion will start a week of tests to verify the functionality of the vehicle’s systems, in view of future manned missions.
The return of the capsule to Earth is scheduled for December 11th.
Artemis 1 will be followed by Artemis 2, in 2024, with a crew but only in orbit around the Moon, and Artemis 3, in 2025, with a landing on the lunar surface — the man (and the first woman) will set foot there still.
The goal of NASA and the space agencies of Europe and Canada, its partners in the Artemis program, is to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, with the aim of exploring deep space, especially the planet Mars.
ROME, 21 NOV (HANDLE)
