NASA’s Artemis 2 mission has returned to Earth, ending this historic 10-day flight around the Moon.
He Integrity The Orion spacecraft looked like a flaming fireball as it and the four brave souls inside it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. After six excruciating minutes, the plasma around the capsule dissipated and the planned communications blackout ended, contact was reestablished between mission control and the crew.
At an altitude of 22,000 feet (6,706 meters), the parachutes deployed, decelerating and stabilizing the capsule. The parachutes were then released at 1,829 meters (6,000 ft) and the three main parachutes deployed. This slowed the Integrity to less than 136 miles per hour (219 kilometers per hour). At the point of entry into the atmosphere, the capsule was falling at approximately 38,405 kph (23,864 mph), more than 30 times faster than the speed of sound.
After slowing to just 20 mph (32 kph), Integrity splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, at 8:07 p.m. ET. This marked the end of the Artemis 2 crew’s 694,481-mile (1,117,659-kilometer) journey around the far side of the moon and back.
In the next few hours, recovery teams from NASA and the U.S. military will extract the astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, NASA’s Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency) from the capsule and fly them by helicopter to the USS. John P. Murtha. Once aboard the ship, they will undergo post-mission medical evaluations. Finally, they will return to shore and board a flight to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
An impressive success
The safe return of this mission is an important milestone for NASA’s Artemis program. Artemis 2 was the first crewed test flight of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, and both vehicles passed with flying colors. After a surprisingly smooth launch On April 1, Integrity separated from SLS and headed for the Moon. was the First manned spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit in more than half a century..
After reaching the Moon on April 7, the Artemis 2 astronauts broke the record for the longest distance humans have traveled from Earth. That record was set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from our home planet. As Integrity flew around the far side of the Moon, the crew They observed and photographed parts of the surface that humans had never seen.. The images they sent to Earth during the last 10 days. They have been truly extraordinary..
Once Integrity emerged from behind the Moon, the long journey home began. It took about three days for the spacecraft to fly 252,756 miles (406,771 km) through cislunar space and reach our planet today. Reentry into the atmosphere was by far the most dangerous part of the mission, so it was a huge relief to see Integrity fall in one piece.
The success of Artemis 2 has laid the foundation for a lunar landing, a sustained lunar presence and, ultimately, manned missions to Mars. Perhaps most importantly, the mission showcased the best of humanity, and not just because of its technological achievements. The crew created precious moments of camaraderie, humility and reverence throughout their adventure. As they watched Earth from far, far away, these astronauts reminded us that we are all connected at a time when our world can feel torn apart.
If you’ve been following Gizmodo since launch day, thank you. Until next time, ad astra!
