admin On December 11, NASA’s Orion Spacecraft made a safe return from the Moon. The Orion capsule safely splashes down in the Pacific Ocean of Baja California, Mexico to conclude the test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar journey. After the capsule’s drop witnessed into the ocean near Guadalupe Island, Mexico, recovery teams moved in to gather imagery that can be fed into the post-flight analysis.
After this test, NASA is now planning for more intricate missions with Orion spaceship. The next mission will going to start in late 2024, attempting to put humans back on the lunar surface. This mission were help before 50 years back by the crew of Apollo 17. Now this current project named Artemis that means sister of Apollo in Greek mythology.
Bill Nelson uttered, “The Artemis mission we are doing for some different motive, because this time the mission will be going back on Moon to learn to live, to work, to create, and to invent in order to go out into the cosmos to further exploration of the planet. Now the plan is to get ready to go with humans to Mars in the decades of the 2030s.”
The Orion spacecraft coming back from Moon at very high speed of 25,000mph at prior contact with the atmosphere. A huge heat-shield is required to protect the ship from tearing as it pushes up opposite to air and temperature reaches near to 3,000C. NASA should be sure about the protective layer on the underside of the Orion before risking the lives of the astronaut on next missions.
The 11 parachutes deployed one by one in sequence was a clear indication that the heat-shield had done its job perfectly but engineers will provide information after a detailed inspection of the returned spacecraft. “This mission is a great achievement for us,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
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