NASA’s Orion Capsule Seen With Serious Charring After Splashdown

Photo Credit: NASA

After a 25-day journey, NASA’s Orion capsule returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, making the agency’s Artemis I moon mission a success. The spacecraft reached past the Moon and back and will carry astronauts in future Artemis missions. The Orion capsule traveled 1.4 million miles, and its success it a massive leap in NASA’s goal of putting humans on the Moon again after five decades.

NASA has recovered Orion from the middle of the ocean and brought it to solid ground now. Orion arrived at the San Diego naval station aboard the USS Portland, giving enthusiasts a close look at the history-making capsule. Well, it had a rough outing.

Artemis I Orion close up after returning from a trip around the Moon!

Live: https://t.co/B60HE8zaqk pic.twitter.com/JUrOQWMplA

— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 13, 2022

Orion Takes Serious Space Beating

NASASpaceFlight shared some videos that showed some severe charring. The capsule’s modular heat shield fitted at the base of the capsule took all the heat. Since NASA claims the capsule experienced temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Orion’s resilience will be one of the critical inspection points for NASA engineers. While the capsule is not meant to be reused fully, NASA plans to use some of its parts for its next Artemis II mission, ferrying astronauts to the lunar orbit.

The space agency hasn’t confirmed what will be retrieved and reused, but onboard flight computers are the front runners, and it could save the space agency a lot of time and money if they are reused.

Flight Data To Help NASA Greatly

Orion is valuable for its parts and the data collected by leveraging its many sensors. Moreover, the wealth of valuable insights that NASA engineers will gain after analyzing flight computers will significantly help the space agency.

While astronauts and engineers might not be very happy about it, the space agency will likely take a lot of time to prepare for the next installment of its Artemis Moon program. The spaceflight that will take astronauts on a trip around the Moon will likely happen two years from now.

With the Artemis Moon missions, NASA aims to set up a permanent base on the lunar surface, facilitating extended stays for astronauts to work and carry out scientific experiments. The space agency’s ultimate goal is to launch interplanetary missions from the lunar base, which is expected to occur in the 2030s.