Capsule Nears Home After 25-Day Mission Around the Moon
NASA’s Orion capsule, accompanied by test dummies, is on its way back to Earth, concluding a 25-day mission that took it around the moon. On Sunday, flight controllers aimed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, just off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, with a Navy recovery ship stationed nearby to assist.
The journey began on November 16, when Orion launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. After spending nearly a week in a wide lunar orbit, the capsule is now making its return. This $4 billion demonstration mission aims to prepare for future crewed lunar flights, with astronauts expected to embark on their next lunar adventure in the coming years.
The capsule’s fiery and rapid descent aligns with the 50th anniversary of the last human lunar landing, which took place on December 11, 1972, by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. Orion marks the first spacecraft to visit the moon since that historic mission.
NASA’s Apollo program successfully landed 12 astronauts on the lunar surface. With the new Artemis program, named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology, astronauts may return to the moon as early as 2025, paving the way for renewed exploration of our celestial neighbor.
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