NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft has made it again to terra firma.
Orion reached Naval Base San Diego on Tuesday (Dec. 13) aboard the united statesPortland, the U.S. Navy restoration ship that fished the capsule out of the Pacific Ocean on Sunday (Dec. 11) following its successful splashdown.
The spacecraft will probably be offloaded from the Portland on Wednesday (Dec. 14) and can then start an overland trek to NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle (KSC) in Florida, KSC officers said via Twitter on Tuesday (opens in new tab).
In images: 10 greatest images from NASA’s Artemis 1 mission
That will probably be a homecoming for Orion, which lifted off from KSC atop a Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket on Nov. 16, kicking off the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission.Â
Every little thing went effectively on the shakeout cruise; the SLS despatched Orion on its solution to the moon as deliberate, and the capsule checked off all of its desired milestones in deep space.
Orion arrived in lunar orbit on Nov. 25, departed on Dec. 1 and headed for Earth on Dec. 5 by conducting an extended engine burn throughout a detailed flyby of the moon. The spacecraft returned to its residence planet on Sunday, splashing down softly beneath parachutes about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
As soon as Orion arrives at KSC, Artemis 1 crew members will give it a radical going-over, assessing how the spacecraft and its many subsystems held up in deep space and the harrowing return journey by way of Earth’s atmosphere.
Technicians may also take away some {hardware} from the capsule for processing and reuse on Artemis 2, the subsequent mission in NASA’s Artemis program of lunar exploration.Â
Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch astronauts across the moon in 2024. If all goes effectively with that flight, Artemis 3 will intention to place boots down close to the lunar south pole a 12 months or two later, utilizing a SpaceX Starship car as a lander.
NASA goals to construct a analysis base within the south polar area, which is assumed to harbor a number of water ice. The company additionally plans to construct a small space station in lunar orbit known as Gateway, which is able to function a jumping-off level for missions to the floor, each crewed and uncrewed.
The primary parts of Gateway are scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2024.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide concerning the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
