After spending just over 25 days in space and orbiting the Moon, the spacecraft Orion NASA landed in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, successfully concluding the Artemis 1 test mission tasked with preparing the return of humans to the Moon in the coming years.
The landing took place off the Mexican island of Guadalupe at 9:40 (12:40 Montreal time).
“For years, thousands of people have dedicated themselves to this mission,” the head of the US space agency, Bill Nelson, said in a press release. “Today marks a major milestone for NASA, the United States, our international partners and all of humanity. »
The capsule, which did not have an astronaut on board, entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km/h and had to endure a hellish heat of 2800°C, half the temperature of the surface of the Sun.
The main objective of the mission was to test the capsule’s heat shield, the largest ever built (5 m in diameter), under these conditions.
The spacecraft was first slowed down in its vertiginous descent from the atmosphere, then by a series of eleven parachutes, until it reached a speed of about 30 km/h when it touched the water.
“We had an absolutely perfect landing,” said Melissa Jones, the recovery operations manager, whom NASA has trained for years.
Soon after, helicopters flew over the spacecraft, which showed no apparent damage. Orion it had to be left in the water for two hours, much longer than if the astronauts were on board, to collect data – particularly on the heat induced inside the capsule.
Then the divers will tie up cables to tow it with rubber boats inside a US Navy ship, the USS Portland, whose rear will be partially submerged. The water will then be pumped out, allowing the capsule to slowly settle on a support provided for this purpose.
The operations should have lasted from four to six hours from the moment of landing.
The USS Portland will then take the road to San Diego, on the American West Coast, where the capsule will land in the next few days.
2.2 million kilometers
The success of this mission was crucial for NASA, which has invested tens of billions of dollars in the American return to the moon program, Artemis. After humans return to the lunar surface, his goal is to prepare for a future trip to Mars.
A first test of the capsule was carried out in 2014, but it did not leave Earth orbit and therefore entered the atmosphere more slowly (about 32,000 km/h).
In total, the spacecraft has traveled more than 2.2 million kilometers in space this time since its November 16 liftoff during the maiden flight of NASA’s new mega-rocket. SL.
Orion it has flown by the Moon about 130 kilometers from its surface and ventured more than 430,000 km from our planet, farther than any previously habitable spacecraft.
Recovering the capsule will allow you to collect a lot of decisive data for subsequent missions. First of all by detailing the state of the ship after its voyage, but also by analyzing the recordings of the sensors of the accelerations and vibrations suffered on board, or the performance of an anti-radiation jacket.
Some elements of the ship will also have to be reused for the Artemis 2 capsule, which is already well under way.
This second mission, scheduled for 2024, will take a crew to the Moon, without landing there yet. NASA is expected to announce the names of the chosen astronauts very soon.
Artemis 3, officially scheduled for 2025, will land for the first time on the South Pole of the Moon, where water in the form of ice is present.
