NASA’s Orion space capsule flew over the moon less than 130 kilometers from its surface on Monday, a spectacular maneuver that marks the beginning of the return trip to Earth for this first mission of the Artemis program.
• Also read: The surface of the moon in new images like never before
• Also read: NASA’s new mega rocket launches to the moon for the first time
With this flyby very close to the surface, the spacecraft used the gravitational pull of the moon to propel itself on its return trajectory.
Communications with the capsule were lost for 30 minutes as it passed the far side of the moon. It was also intended to fly over Apollo landing sites.
The necessary thrust of the main engine of the European service module, which propels the capsule, took just over three minutes.
It was the last major maneuver of the mission. The latter had begun on November 16 with the launch of NASA’s new mega rocket on a journey that should take a total of 25.5 days.
Orion will now make only minor course corrections until it lands in the Pacific Ocean off the US city of San Diego at 17:40 GMT on Sunday 11 December. She is recovered and hoisted aboard a US Navy ship.
During the mission, Orion spent about six days in a distant orbit around the moon.
A week ago, this brand new spacecraft broke the distance record for a habitable capsule, traveling just over 432,000 km from our planet – further than the Apollo missions.
The pod is not carrying a passenger, the purpose of this Artemis 1 mission is to verify that the vehicle is safe for a future crew.
The main goal is to test the resistance of Orion’s heat shield – the largest ever built – as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km/h. It must withstand a temperature half that of the surface of the sun (2800 °C).
With the Artemis program, the Americans want to establish a permanent presence on the moon in preparation for a trip to Mars.
The Artemis 2 mission will take astronauts to the moon without landing there. That honor is reserved for the crew of Artemis 3, which will land on the moon’s South Pole for the first time. Officially, these missions are scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively.