Artemis II splashdown: When it lands, risks and how to watch live
#NASA #Orion spacecraft #Artemis I #splashdown #Pacific Ocean #Moon mission #re-entry #heat shield
📌 Key Takeaways
- NASA's Orion spacecraft concludes the Artemis I test flight with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
- The event is scheduled for 00:07 GMT on December 11, 2022, off the San Diego coast.
- This is a critical test of the heat shield and systems before crewed Artemis II mission.
- The high-speed re-entry presents the mission's most hazardous phase.
- Live coverage will be available for the public to watch the historic return.
📖 Full Retelling
🏷️ Themes
Space Exploration, Technology Testing, Mission Safety
📚 Related People & Topics
NASA
American space and aeronautics agency
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and space exploration. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across th...
Artemis I
2022 uncrewed Moon-orbiting NASA mission
Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched in November 2022. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis I marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earl...
Pacific Ocean
Largest ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in t...
Orion (spacecraft)
American crewed spacecraft for the Artemis program
Orion (Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin that is paired with a European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence ...
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Deep Analysis
Why It Matters
This event marks a pivotal milestone in NASA's goal to return humans to the Moon, serving as the final major test of the Orion spacecraft before astronauts are allowed on board. It validates the heat shield technology necessary to protect crews from the extreme heat of lunar re-entry, which hasn't been tested at this scale since the Apollo program. The data gathered will directly influence the safety and timeline of the Artemis II mission, which aims to carry astronauts around the Moon. Ultimately, this mission lays the groundwork for future lunar landings and potential human exploration of Mars.
Context & Background
- The Artemis program is NASA's successor to the Apollo program, with the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon.
- Artemis I is the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
- The last time a spacecraft designed for humans returned from the Moon was during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
- The mission utilizes a "skip entry" technique, where the capsule dips into the atmosphere to bleed off speed before skipping back out, improving landing accuracy.
- The USS Portland, a U.S. Navy salvage ship, is designated as the primary recovery vessel for this mission.
What Happens Next
Following the splashdown, NASA will transport the Orion capsule to Kennedy Space Center for detailed analysis of the heat shield and other components. Once the data confirms the spacecraft's safety, NASA will proceed with Artemis II, a mission scheduled to send four astronauts on a lunar flyby. Subsequent missions will aim to land astronauts on the lunar surface, beginning with Artemis III.
Frequently Asked Questions
The primary goal is to test the Orion spacecraft's systems, including its heat shield and re-entry capabilities, to ensure it is safe for future human crews.
The capsule is targeted to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 60 miles off the coast of Baja California, near San Diego.
The spacecraft will enter the atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph, generating temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which puts immense stress on the heat shield.
The event will be broadcast live on NASA's official television channel and website, with coverage starting several hours before the scheduled landing time.