Artemis 1's Orion spacecraft returns home to Kennedy Space Center
Artemis 1's Orion spacecraft safely made its way back to the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. The space capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11, after completing a 25.5-day trip to the Moon and back. The payloads, the heat shield, and other elements on the Orion space capsule will be removed for further analysis and investigation.
Why does this story matter?
Orion was launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on November 16 and has traveled 2.25 million kilometers to the Moon and back. The spacecraft voyaged 432,210km from Earth, which is the maximum distance that any spacecraft built for humans has reached. Initial assessments revealed that the SLS rocket, which is the world's most powerful rocket, "exceeded all expectations" during its maiden launch.
Technicians will start offloading the payloads on Orion
"Now that Orion is back at Kennedy, technicians will remove payloads from the capsule as part of de-servicing operations, including Commander Moonikin Campus, zero-gravity indicator Snoopy, and the official flight kit," wrote NASA in a blog post. "Orion's heat shield and other elements will be removed for extensive analysis, and remaining hazards will be offloaded," added the space agency.
Orion was recovered from the Pacific Ocean on December 11
The Orion spacecraft was recovered from the Pacific Ocean by USS Portland on December 11 and was brought to the US Naval Base San Diego in California on December 13. It was then transported by truck to Kennedy's Multi Payload Processing Facility in Florida.
Artemis 2 will be a crewed test flight
Artemis 2 will be the first crewed test flight of Orion and the SLS rocket around the Moon and has a tentative launch date in May 2024. Artemis 3, which is expected to take off in 2025, will land astronauts on the Moon. Via the Artemis program, NASA intends to land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.
