NASA užbaigia Artemis I mėnulio misiją su Orion kapsulės purslais

NASA’s Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico on Sunday, completing the agency’s Artemis 1 mission.

Just under 26 days since Artemis 1 launched on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, its most powerful ever, the capsule is back. Coming into Earth’s atmosphere at a near 25,000 miles per hour, the intense reentry process marked the final step in the agency’s first lunar mission.

“This is the moment of truth for Orion,” NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said on the agency’s live webcast, speaking from mission control in Houston, as the capsule began reentry.

“America’s new ticket to ride to the moon and beyond,” Navias said later.

Orion completed a pair of near passes above the moon’s surface during the missions, representing an end-to-end test of the system that NASA hopes will return astronauts to the surface of the moon in the next few years.

While no astronauts were onboard Artemis 1, the nearly month-long journey around the moon is a critical demonstration for NASA’s lunar program.

Misija yra esminis NASA mėnulio planų posūkio taškas, kai programa buvo atidėta daugelį metų, o jos biudžetas viršija milijardus dolerių. „Artemis“ programa atspindi daugybę misijų su vis didėjančiais tikslais. Tikimasi, kad trečiasis – preliminariai numatytas 2025 m. – pirmą kartą nuo Apollo eros sugrąžins astronautus į Mėnulio paviršių.