Berliner Boersenzeitung - NASA capsule Orion splashes down after record-setting lunar voyage

EUR -
AED 4.306213
AFN 80.593234
ALL 97.488953
AMD 449.981717
ANG 2.098223
AOA 1075.08008
ARS 1496.547525
AUD 1.788363
AWG 2.112644
AZN 1.995985
BAM 1.956573
BBD 2.369117
BDT 143.436701
BGN 1.955589
BHD 0.44193
BIF 3497.372012
BMD 1.172388
BND 1.503433
BOB 8.107378
BRL 6.501247
BSD 1.173304
BTN 101.549143
BWP 15.753294
BYN 3.839849
BYR 22978.813576
BZD 2.356892
CAD 1.607098
CDF 3387.030425
CHF 0.934657
CLF 0.028515
CLP 1118.567093
CNY 8.387269
CNH 8.403481
COP 4796.839058
CRC 592.749483
CUC 1.172388
CUP 31.068294
CVE 110.308605
CZK 24.552172
DJF 208.932592
DKK 7.464328
DOP 71.190571
DZD 151.805607
EGP 57.554187
ERN 17.585827
ETB 163.284825
FJD 2.632241
FKP 0.86688
GBP 0.873635
GEL 3.177454
GGP 0.86688
GHS 12.260847
GIP 0.86688
GMD 84.41212
GNF 10182.024977
GTQ 9.005714
GYD 245.477038
HKD 9.202903
HNL 30.723145
HRK 7.533653
HTG 153.973493
HUF 396.403879
IDR 19163.685709
ILS 3.931435
IMP 0.86688
INR 101.443721
IQD 1537.007583
IRR 49372.199582
ISK 142.176061
JEP 0.86688
JMD 187.153982
JOD 0.831201
JPY 173.233875
KES 151.473381
KGS 102.348718
KHR 4699.978179
KMF 490.648664
KPW 1055.12869
KRW 1621.894208
KWD 0.358044
KYD 0.977787
KZT 639.369105
LAK 25293.645868
LBP 105129.999914
LKR 354.022024
LRD 235.244999
LSL 20.824542
LTL 3.461758
LVL 0.709166
LYD 6.333504
MAD 10.550971
MDL 19.734801
MGA 5182.181133
MKD 61.586446
MMK 2461.447286
MNT 4205.696787
MOP 9.48635
MRU 46.826511
MUR 53.238305
MVR 18.054573
MWK 2034.504244
MXN 21.775823
MYR 4.949238
MZN 74.985923
NAD 20.823832
NGN 1795.571275
NIO 43.172463
NOK 11.922663
NPR 162.482387
NZD 1.95283
OMR 0.450788
PAB 1.173294
PEN 4.1552
PGK 4.862922
PHP 66.998456
PKR 332.49558
PLN 4.24931
PYG 8788.474103
QAR 4.276891
RON 5.069412
RSD 117.18377
RUB 93.029445
RWF 1695.970421
SAR 4.398325
SBD 9.71335
SCR 16.583572
SDG 704.015495
SEK 11.17743
SGD 1.502897
SHP 0.921313
SLE 26.906759
SLL 24584.404182
SOS 670.57652
SRD 42.898279
STD 24266.073826
STN 24.510316
SVC 10.266058
SYP 15244.431014
SZL 20.816584
THB 38.025212
TJS 11.205125
TMT 4.115083
TND 3.425354
TOP 2.745848
TRY 47.541987
TTD 7.978358
TWD 34.584253
TZS 3004.246568
UAH 49.058693
UGX 4206.806489
USD 1.172388
UYU 46.998579
UZS 14845.868605
VES 141.007146
VND 30652.095967
VUV 140.074254
WST 3.209399
XAF 656.233203
XAG 0.030621
XAU 0.000352
XCD 3.168439
XCG 2.11459
XDR 0.813679
XOF 656.216404
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.487435
ZAR 20.842066
ZMK 10552.888618
ZMW 27.367402
ZWL 377.508602
  • BCC

    0.9700

    87.4

    +1.11%

  • SCS

    0.0300

    10.54

    +0.28%

  • BTI

    -0.3700

    52.25

    -0.71%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    22.45

    +0.09%

  • NGG

    -0.3400

    71.89

    -0.47%

  • RELX

    -0.9600

    52.75

    -1.82%

  • BP

    -0.0900

    32.04

    -0.28%

  • GSK

    -0.4770

    37.753

    -1.26%

  • RIO

    -0.9400

    62.89

    -1.49%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • JRI

    -0.0400

    13.11

    -0.31%

  • RYCEF

    -0.4000

    13.1

    -3.05%

  • BCE

    -0.4400

    23.99

    -1.83%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    22.865

    +0.07%

  • VOD

    -0.1550

    11.365

    -1.36%

  • AZN

    -1.2600

    72.42

    -1.74%

  • RBGPF

    7.0000

    75

    +9.33%

NASA capsule Orion splashes down after record-setting lunar voyage
NASA capsule Orion splashes down after record-setting lunar voyage / Photo: Jose ROMERO - NASA TV/AFP

NASA capsule Orion splashes down after record-setting lunar voyage

NASA's Orion space capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific on Sunday, completing the Artemis 1 mission -- a more than 25-day journey around the Moon with an eye to returning humans there in just a few years.

Text size:

After racing through the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour (25,000 mph), the uncrewed capsule floated down to the sea with the help of three large red and white parachutes, as seen on NASA TV.

After a few hours of tests, the vessel will be recovered by a US Navy ship in waters off the coast of Mexico's Baja California.

The capsule shaped like a gumdrop had to withstand a temperature 2,800 degrees Centigrade (5,000 Fahrenheit) -- about half that of the surface of the sun -- as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

The main goal of this mission was to test Orion's heat shield -- for the day when it is humans and not test mannequins riding inside.

Achieving success in this mission was key for NASA, which has invested tens of billions of dollars in the Artemis program due to take people back to the Moon and prepare for an onward trip, someday, to Mars.

A first test of the capsule was carried out in 2014 but that time it stayed in Earth's orbit, coming back into the atmosphere at a slower speed of around 20,000 miles per hour.

- Choppers, divers and boats -

The USS Portland was positioned to recover the Orion capsule in an exercise NASA has been rehearsing for years. Helicopters and inflatable boats were also deployed for this task.

The falling spacecraft eased to a speed of 20 miles (30 kilometers) per hour as it finally hit the blue waters of the Pacific.

NASA will now let Orion float for two hours -- a lot longer than if astronauts were inside -- so as to collect data.

"We'll see how the heat soaks back into the crew module and how that affects the temperature inside," Jim Geffre, NASA's Orion vehicle integration manager, said last week.

Divers will then attach cables to hoist Orion onto the USS Portland, which is an amphibious transport dock vessel, the rear of which will be partly submerged. This water will be pumped out slowly so the spacecraft can rest on a platform designed to hold it.

This should all take about four to six hours after splashdown.

The Navy ship will then head for San Diego, California where the spacecraft will be unloaded a few days later.

Upon returning to Earth, the spacecraft has traveled 1.4 million miles since it took off November 16 with the help of a monstrous rocket called SLS.

At its nearest point to the Moon it flew less than 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the surface. And it broke the distance record for a habitable capsule, venturing 268,000 miles (432,000 kilometers) from our planet.

- Artemis 2 and 3 -

Recovering the spacecraft will allow NASA to gather data that is crucial for future missions.

This includes information on the condition of the vessel after its flight, data from monitors that measure acceleration and vibration, and the performance of a special vest put on a mannequin in the capsule to test how to protect people from radiation while flying through space.

Some capsule components should be good for reuse in the Artemis 2 mission, already in advanced stages of planning.

This next mission planned for 2024 will take a crew toward the Moon but still without landing on it. NASA is expected to name the astronauts selected soon.

Artemis 3, scheduled for 2025, will see a spacecraft land for the first time on the south pole of the Moon, which features water in the form of ice.

Only 12 people -- all of them white men -- have set foot on the Moon. They did this during the Apollo missions, the last of which was in 1972.

Artemis is scheduled to send a woman and a person of color to the Moon for the first time.

NASA's goal is to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon, through a base on its surface and a space station circling around it. Having people learn to live on the Moon should help engineers develop technologies for a years-long trip to Mars, maybe in the late 2030s.

(A.Berg--BBZ)