Staff Reports
After completing its unmanned journey to the Moon, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will go back to Earth.
.@NASA_Orion is only 1,550 miles away from the Moon right now.
The spacecraft will fly about 79 miles above the lunar surface at 11:42am ET (16:42 UTC). pic.twitter.com/vmpz7oFY4h
— NASA (@NASA) December 5, 2022
NASA broadcast the spacecraft’s flyby of the Moon live on Monday. The spacecraft was shown using the Moon’s gravity to accelerate back toward Earth in the live stream.
After leaving a lunar orbit thousands of miles beyond the Moon where NASA had been testing its systems, Orion started its return to Earth on December 1st. Before men were sent to the Moon and other planets for future voyages, this was done to better understand the spaceship.
On Monday, the space agency provided an update on its Artemis mission, showing the capsule passing past the Moon’s shadowy side.
On Sunday, Orion is anticipated to splashdown off the coast of San Diego in a live broadcast of its return to Earth. The spacecraft will be recovered by the NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) recovery team and the American Navy.
The spacecraft’s following mission is slated for 2024. Aboard it will be astronauts.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Oann.
