NASA has created an out of this world jigsaw puzzle to celebrate the return of Orion this weekend.
The American space agency this week shared a picture of the inside of its Orion spacecraft filled with an unknown number of Easter eggs that hold hidden meanings.
NASA has urged the public to decipher all secret messages before revealing the findings on Saturday – a day before Orion returns to Earth.
Twitter users have risen to the challenge and share what they think are symbols, numbers and images placed in the I-craft in an intricate way.
Some guesses include a red bird-like symbol, a Snoopy stuffed animal, and a yellow label with the letters CBAGF believed to be the first five notes of Frank Sinatra’s song “Fly Me To The Moon.”
NASA announced it has placed puzzles throughout its Orion capsule and urged the public to find them
Orion is currently on a homeward trajectory after a successful 1.3 million-mile trip to the Moon and back, the furthest it has traveled on any human-carrying spacecraft.
Orion is only 48 hours from home, but a lot could go wrong before it splashes into the Pacific Ocean.
While the mission aimed to test the capsule in space, the splashdown is said to be “priority one” because engineers want to see proof the spacecraft can survive the heat of reentry into Earth’s atmosphere before humans can travel inside.
The capsule must withstand searing temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit – half the temperature of the sun’s surface – and slow down from speeds of 24,500 miles per hour.
Until then, NASA is challenging the public to solve mysteries intricately placed in Orion.
On the side next to Commander Moonikin Campos, a sensor-packed mannequin, is an image of a red bird.
NASA will provide the answers on Saturday, a day before the spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth
Speculators said this could be an eagle, a nod to the name of the lunar module that brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface in July 1969 – giving rise to the popular saying, “The eagle has landed”.
It could also refer to the Phoenix Mars Lander that landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, SWS reports.
Hanging on the cabin’s roof is a Morse code meaning Charlie, likely associated with the Snoopy stuffed animal used as a zero-gravity indicator.
The Astronaut Snoopy toy is a reference to the 1969 Apollo 10 Command and Service Module, nicknamed Charlie Brown.
The capsule launched with three astronauts on a Saturn V rocket.
As the Apollo 10 crew walked down the corridor to the launch pad, Mission Commander Thomas P. Stafford patted the nose of Snoopy, the mission’s mascot, who was held by Jamye Flowers, secretary to astronaut Gordon Coopers.
Another Easter egg spotted is the retro logo known as “worm” or “meatball.”
In 1992, the 1970s brand was phased out – except for clothing and other souvenir items – in favor of the original late 1950s graphics.
And along the front panel are several numbers.
While they are difficult to decipher in the picture, it could read “1 31 32 33 34 39 41 45 46 47 49”.
Twitter is stumped by the numbers, but some are speculating they could be coordinates.
Orion features what is known as the “Callisto Payload,” a technology demonstration of speech-enabled audio and video technology from Lockheed Martin in collaboration with Amazon and Cisco.
The blue circle may refer to the HAL 9000 computer from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, although it had a red light in a circle.
One of the last guesses involves a black and white pattern on a plate.
One online user thought it was binary code: “Binary 10010 to the power of decimal is 18. The 18 Artemis astronauts?” while another said they look like piano keys could be the musical notes used in Close Encounters?
Before heading home, Orion performed its longest engine burn last week, bringing it within 79 miles of the lunar surface — the next flyby of the Artemis I mission.
The capsule expectantly lost communications with the Artemis ground team for 31 minutes and performed its second engine burn, which lasted 207 seconds.
On the side next to Commander Moonikin Campos, a sensor-packed mannequin, is an image of a red bird
Hanging on the cabin’s roof is a Morse code meaning Charlie, likely associated with the Snoopy stuffed animal used as a zero-gravity indicator
The Artemis ground team waited patiently during the loss of communications, hoping for the fire to activate at 11:43 a.m. and last the planned three minutes and 27 seconds.
Orion reconnected with his team at 12:14 p.m. ET and confirmed that the burn was as expected and is now on a return trajectory to Earth.
“For Orion, this is not a farewell to the moon, but a see you later,” the NASA livestream said, referring to the idea that the capsule will make the same journey during the manned Artemis II mission.
Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, Artemis is the modern incarnation of the US Space Agency’s Apollo program, which first sent astronauts to the moon.
The public spotted a toy Snoopy that Artemis I used for his zero-gravity indicator
The Astronaut Snoopy toy is a reference to the 1969 Apollo 10 Command and Service Module (pictured) nicknamed Charlie Brown
As the Apollo 10 crew walked down the corridor to the launch pad, Mission Commander Thomas P. Stafford patted the nose of Snoopy, the crew’s mascot
This mission has no people on board, but if all goes well and the Orion capsule splashes down on Earth as planned, there is hope that a crew of four can make a trip around the moon in two years.
Instead of humans, a trio of human-sized test dummies represent the crew in the Orion capsule, their bodies covered with sensors to measure radiation and vibration.
Sitting in the commander’s seat is Commander Moonikin Campos – a tribute to electrical engineer Arturo Campos, who played a crucial role in bringing the troubled Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970.
Dressed in a new Orion Crew Survival System space suit, the mannequin is providing NASA scientists with vital data on what humans experience during a trip to the moon.
Another Easter egg spotted is the retro logo known as “worm” or “meatball.”
Numbers on the capsule interior that are difficult to decipher could read “1 31 32 33 34 39 41 45 46 47 49”. This has left people perplexed but could refer to coordinates
A yellow label with the letters CBAGF, presumably the first five notes of the song “Fly Me To The Moon”.
Orion features what is known as the ‘Callisto payload. “The blue circle may refer to the HAL 9000 computer from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, although it had a red light in a circle
Two other mannequins named Helga and Zohar sit in the Orion’s passenger seats. They reflect the determination of the US space agency that a manned flight to the moon will soon include a woman.
The dummies have torsos made from materials that mimic a woman’s softer tissue, organs and bones.
They are equipped with around 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to measure the amount of radiation exposure they are exposed to during the mission.
One is wearing a radiation protection vest, the other is not.
Artemis I is designed to show that the SLS rocket and Orion capsule are ready to carry astronauts for Artemis II and ultimately the Artemis III mission to return humans to the moon.
In preparation for Orion’s return to Earth, NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and the US Navy, which will recover Orion from the Pacific Ocean, completed their final day of training at sea using a dummy capsule in the water for divers and small boats to practice openly could water reclamation processes.