NASA Orion flies past the moon’s surface for the last time

The NASA Orion capsule passed the moon’s surface for the last time on Monday evening. This puts Orion on course for its return to Earth. The space capsule is scheduled to land in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, December 11.

The Orion spacecraft completed its final flight along the lunar surface Monday evening before returning to Earth, writes NASA. Orion passed the moon’s surface at an altitude of about 130 km. In a video The capsule can be seen approaching the moon just before its return powered flyby burn, with which Orion now has sufficient speed to return to Earth.

The capsule performed an ignition of the main engine, which lasted 3 minutes and 27 seconds. According to NASA, this ignition changed Orion’s speed by about 654 miles per hour. It’s the last major engine maneuver Orion will perform during the Artemis 1 mission, which serves as a flight test of the capsule before it is used to carry people later this decade.

NASA’s Orion capsule is scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean on December 11. Once there, a team of divers and technicians will sail on small boats to the spacecraft, after which it will be towed back to a ship. This brings the Artemis 1 mission to an end. During this mission, all Orion systems were tested in preparation for Artemis 2 and 3. Artemis 2 will carry out a similar lunar flyby test, but with people on board. Artemis 3 is expected to take humans to the moon’s surface in 2025.

Orion completes its return powered flyby and is on its way back to Earth. Source: NASA