The Orion spacecraft landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.
The Orion spacecraft safely splashed down into the Pacific Ocean after a historic mission around the Moon.NASA’s Orion capsule splashed down into the Pacific Ocean at around 12:40PM ET.NASA’s Orion spacecraft has returned to Earth. The uncrewed capsule safely splashed down into the Pacific Ocean off of Mexico’s Baja California around 12:40PM ET on Sunday, marking the end of the landmark Artemis I mission.
After a 1.4 million-mile journey through space, the capsule splashed down in an upright position without any major hiccups. It reached speeds of about 24,500mph as it returned to Earth, while its heat shield sustained scorching temperatures of around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.maneuver, in which Orion dipped into Earth’s upper atmosphere and lifted out before reentering again.
Once it reached about 24,000 feet from the ground, the capsule began deploying its parachutes to help it slow down as it descended into the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy started the process of recovering the spacecraft shortly after splashdown, but that will take several hours to complete. Now that Orion’s back on the ground, NASA will start capturing data from the sensor-equipped mannequins on board so it can get ready for future missions involving humans. NASA hopes to get humans back on the Moon during a second Artemis mission that’s slated for 2024.
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