Author: Elizabeth Melimopoulos
Published on: 10/04/2026 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
NASA’s Artemis II mission is nearing its final stage, with the Orion spacecraft set for a high-speed return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The splashdown is a critical moment for the mission, testing systems that the space agency plans to use in future crewed moon landings, including Artemis III. Artemis II is the first time that NASA and the Department of Defense are recovering a crewed spacecraft returning from the moon. Their Orion capsule will come hurtling back to Earth, hitting the atmosphere at about 34,965 feet (10,657 metres) per second, roughly 23,800mph (38,300km/h) fast enough to travel from New York to Tokyo in less than 20 minutes. Artemis II spacecraft will fly 1,775 nautical miles (3,287km) to its landing spot in the Pacific Ocean. The heat shield is a protective layer on the bottom of the Orion spacecraft that absorbs and deflects the extreme heat generated as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. After returning from the moon, air in front of the capsule compresses and heats up, creating temperatures of about 2,700 degrees Celsius (4,900 degrees Fahrenheit) NASA does not understand what caused the failure on Artemis I... So there is no pressing need to fly a crew on this mission. Mission leaders say they are confident they now fully understand the heat shield’s behaviour and the steps needed to keep the crew safe. Because the shield is already integrated into the Orion spacecraft, replacing it would have caused major delays. Instead, engineers chose to adjust how the capsule returns to Earth. NASA has outlined a timeline for the final stages of the Artemis II mission, from when the crew wake up to splashdown and recovery. The crew wakes the astronauts for their final day as they begin preparing for the return to Earth. Atmospheric entry (23:53 GMT): This is the moment the capsule officially hits Earth’s atmosphere and begins re-entry. The Artemis II crew is flown to the USS John P Murtha and undergoes medical checkups prior to being flown back to shore. The splashdown and recovery will be broadcast live on NASA+, the NASA app, and its YouTube channel. When the crew returns to Earth, they experience intense gravitational forces as the spacecraft barrels into the atmosphere and rapidly decelerates. Astronauts will undergo medical checks before returning to shore and flying back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The journey has left the astronauts with a deeper perspective on Earth itself. “We live on a fragile planet in the vacuum and the void of space,” astronaut Jeremy Hansen said. Wiseman: "But what we really hoped in our soul is that we could for just a moment have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet in a very special place in our universe. And for that, we are eternally grateful," he added.
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