Artemis 1: Orion capsule is returning to Earth

The spacecraft took advantage of the Moon's gravitational pull to gain momentum on its return to Earth.

For 30 minutes, the capsule's communication was interrupted when it passed behind the far side of the Moon. Orion was also supposed to fly over the Apollo mission landing sites.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the spacecraft’s performance,” said Debbie Korth, deputy director of the Orion Program.

As several incredible images appeared on the monitors as soon as communication was restored, Korth told a press conference: “Everyone in the room had to stop and really look (…) Wow, we are saying goodbye to the Moon.”

Now, Orion will undergo rapid course corrections until landing in the Pacific Ocean, in the city of San Diego, California, on Sunday (11), at 17:40 pm local time (14:40 pm in Brasília), when it will be recovered and hoisted on board of a United States Navy ship.

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

A week ago, Orion broke the distance record for a habitable capsule, venturing just over 432 km from our planet, further than the Apollo missions.

(With AFP)

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