NASA's Orion capsule splashed down Sunday as the last test of a high-stakes mission called Artemis. It has already come close to the moon and gone farther into space than any other habitable spacecraft.
The space agency said the spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California at 9:40 a.m. PST on Sunday.
This was the end of a record-breaking mission in which the spacecraft went around the moon and traveled more than 1.4 million miles before safely returning to Earth. This was the Artemis I flight test.
TOPSHOT - NASA's Orion Capsule is drawn into the good deck of the USS Portland during recovery operations after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja, California, Mexico, on December 11, 2022. - Orion was launched on November 16 on the Artemis rocket for a 25-day mission to the Moon. The main goal of this mission was to test Orion's heat shield -- for the day when it is humans and not test mannequins riding inside.
NASA Artemis 1 Orion Rocket Lands on Earth
NASA TV showed that after going through the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kilometers per hour), the unmanned capsule floated down to the sea with the help of three large red and orange parachutes.
The Artemis project manager, Mike Sarafin, who has been at every press conference for the past three weeks, couldn't hide his happiness when he saw a perfect splashdown.
"NASA had a picture-perfect splashdown," Melissa Jones, NASA's landing and recovery director, said per Science Alert.
Orion logged more than a million miles during its trip around Earth's orbiting satellite and back. It went farther from Earth than any other habitable spacecraft.
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After the spacecraft landed, helicopters flew over it, but it didn't look like it was damaged.
After the first tests, Orion will be picked up by a US Navy ship already in place off the coast of Baja, California, in Mexico.
As it came back into the Earth's atmosphere, the capsule in the shape of a gumdrop had to withstand temperatures of 2,800 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit), which is about half the temperature of the Sun's surface.
In a drill that NASA has been practicing for years, the USS Portland was set up to get the Orion capsule. There were also helicopters and inflatable boats used.
The falling spaceship slowed to 20 miles per hour before hitting the blue waters of the Pacific.
NASA then planned to let Orion float for 2 hours, much longer than if astronauts were inside. This was to collect data.
Divers will then hook up cables to lift Orion onto the partially submerged stern of the USS Portland, which is an amphibious transport dock ship. This water will be slowly pumped out so that the spacecraft can rest on a platform made to hold it.
This should take four to six hours after the plane lands.
The ship will then take the spacecraft to San Diego, California, where it will be unloaded a few days later.
Since November 16, when it took off from the east coast of Florida with the help of the huge SLS rocket, Orion has gone 1.4 million miles (2.25 million km).
At one point, it was less than 80 miles from the moon's surface. At its farthest point, it went 268,000 miles from Earth, a record for a spacecraft that could be used to live in.
Other Orion Missions
NASA's plans for Orion missions are getting more complicated all the time, BBC News said.
These will likely begin in late 2024, and in 2025 or 2026, an attempt will be made to put people back on the moon's surface.
This was last done by the crew of Apollo 17 50 years ago to the day. Artemis, who was Apollo's sister in Greek mythology, is the name of the agency's new project.
The last time people stepped foot on the moon was Dec. 11, 1972, at 19:54 GMT. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, on Apollo 17, spent just over three days on the surface before heading back to Earth.
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