(Cape Canaveral) The capsule Orion from NASA arrived close to the Moon on Monday, flying over the far side of our satellite and “grazing” the surface of the star before beginning its orbit.
Three mannequins take the place of the astronauts on board.
This is the first time a capsule has visited the Moon since the Apollo program 50 years ago. It also represents a turning point in the US$4.1 billion mission that began last Wednesday with the launch of the Artemis rocket.
The capsule Orion approached 130 kilometers from the far side of the Moon. Since communications were then interrupted for 30 minutes, the mission managers in Houson had to wait before finding out if the scheduled engine firing had taken place as planned. The capsule eventually reappeared, some 370,000 kilometers from Earth.
The capsule’s camera returned a photo of a small blue ball surrounded by blackness.
“Now we see our little pale blue dot and its eight billion people,” said Mission Control commentator Sandra Jones.
The capsule reached a speed well over 8,000 km/h when it regained radio contact, NASA said. Less than an hour later, Orion flew over Tranquility Base, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969.
“It’s one of those days that I’ve been thinking about and talking about for a very long time,” said flight director Zeb Scoville.
At the start of the day on Monday, the images transmitted by Orion showed the Moon getting closer and closer, as the capsule traveled the last few thousand miles after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the most powerful rocket NASA had ever built.
Orion had to pass behind the Moon to acquire enough speed to place itself in orbit around the satellite. Flight controllers are evaluating the data to determine if the engine firing went as planned. A new firing will place the capsule in its final orbit on Friday.
Next weekend, Orion will smash the NASA distance record for a manned spacecraft. The current mark of nearly 400,000 kilometers was set by Apollo 13 in 1970. On Monday, Orion will be 433,000 kilometers from Earth.
The capsule will spend nearly a week in lunar orbit before returning home. A landing is scheduled in the Pacific on December 11.
NASA astronauts should attempt to land on the Moon in 2025, aboard the capsule Starship of Space X. Astronauts could take place on boardOrion to approach the Moon next year.
NASA officials are very pleased with the progress of the mission so far. The Space Launch System rocket has exceeded expectations, they told reporters last week.
The 98-meter rocket, however, caused unforeseen damage to the Kennedy Space Center launch pad. The four-million-kilogram thrust was so powerful that it ripped off the armored doors of the elevator.