After flying close to the Moon, Orion begins its return to Earth

The Orion space capsule flew over, this Monday (5), the Moon less than 130 kilometers from its surface, a maneuver that marks the beginning of the return trip to Earth of the first mission of NASA’s Artemis program.

By performing the flyby very close to the surface, the spacecraft took advantage of the Moon’s gravitational pull to gain momentum on its return trajectory.

Communication with the capsule was interrupted for 30 minutes as it passed behind the far side of the Moon. The object was also supposed to fly over the Apollo mission landing sites.

The essential thrust of the European Service Module’s main engine, which propels the capsule, lasted just over three minutes.

That was the mission’s last major maneuver, which began with the takeoff of the Artemis mission on the 16th of last month for a trip that was supposed to last 25 and a half days in total.

Now, Orion will only go through slight course corrections until it lands in the Pacific Ocean, in front of the American city of San Diego (California), next Sunday (11), at 17:40 GMT (14:40 in Brasilia). It will be retrieved and lifted aboard a US Navy ship.

During the mission, Orion spent about six days in a remote orbit around the Moon.

A week ago, this new spacecraft broke the distance record for a habitable capsule, venturing just over 432,000 km from our planet, farther than the Apollo missions.

The capsule does not carry passengers, but the purpose of the Artemis 1 mission is to verify that the vehicle is safe to carry crew in the future.

The main objective is to test the resistance of Orion’s heat shield, the largest ever built, during entry into the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km/h. It will have to withstand a temperature of 2,800°C, about half that of the surface of the Sun.

With the Artemis program, the Americans intend to establish a lasting presence on the Moon, in order to prepare for a trip to Mars.

The Artemis 2 mission will take astronauts to the Moon, but will not land on the moon. This honor will be reserved for the crew of Artemis 3, which will land for the first time at the south pole of the Moon. Officially, these missions are scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively.