The Orion capsule successfully reached the farthest point of its mission on Monday and on December 1 made another maneuver that put it on its way to Earth. Orion is expected to reach the ocean, not far from the coast of Florida, on December 11. The Artemis 1 mission is on its 17th day and has nine more to go.
Orion and LunaPhoto: NASA
NASA says everything went smoothly on the Artemis 1 mission and the Orion capsule, which is supposed to carry humans into space in 2024, performed exceptionally well.
It was more difficult with the launch of the SLS rocket, which finally happened on November 16, after it was tried at the end of August, but also in September.
The Orion capsule reached its furthest point from Earth on November 28, 430,000 km, and is now about 380,000 km from Earth and has a speed of 3,600 km/h.
On December 1, the engines fired for 105 seconds, for an essential trajectory correction.
On December 5, a new maneuver follows, the engines will briefly fire, and the capsule will be firmly placed on the correct trajectory to Earth.
Also on Monday, Orion will briefly come close to the lunar surface, within 130 km, before moving away and continuing its six-day journey to Earth.
The capsule made its closest approach to the moon on November 21, the sixth day of the mission.
