On day 11 of the Artemis I mission, Orion continued his journey beyond the Moon after entering a far retrograde orbit Friday, November 25, at 3:52 p.m. CST. Orion will stay in this orbit for six days before leaving lunar orbit to put the spacecraft in orbit back to Earth and fa on Sunday, December 11, plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
Orion surpassed the distance record for a mission with a spacecraft designed to send humans into deep space and back to Earth, at 7:42 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. was set during the Apollo 13 mission 248,655 miles from our home planet. At its maximum distance from the Moon, Orion will be more than 270,000 miles from Earth on Monday, November 28.
Engineers also completed the first orbital maintenance burnout by firing auxiliary thrusters at Orion’s service module at 3:52 pm in less than a second to propel the spacecraft to speed. 0.47 feet per second. The planned orbital maintenance burns will refine Orion’s orbit as it continues to orbit the Moon.
Flying aboard the Orion during the Artemis I mission is a fitting model to name named after the man who played a key role in bringing Apollo 13 back to Earth safely. Arturo Campos was an electrical engineer who developed a plan to provide enough electrical power to the command module to move home safely after the oxygen tanks on the Apollo spacecraft’s service module burst . Commander Moonikin Campos is Equipment With sensors to provide data on what crew members might experience in flight, continuing Campos’ legacy of allowing humans to explore in deep space.
Artemis builds on Apollo’s experience. With Artemis, humans will return to the lunar surface, and this time to stay. NASA will use innovative technologies to explore the Moon’s South Pole and more of the Moon’s surfaces than ever before using the Gateway space station in lunar orbit along with spacesuits. advanced turrets and aircraft. NASA will lead the way in working with international and commercial partners to establish the first permanent presence on the Moon. We’ll then use what we’ve learned on and around the Moon to take the next leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.
As of 1:16 p.m., Orion was 252,133 miles from Earth and 52,707 miles from the Moon, flying at 2,013 miles per hour. You can follow Orion via the Artemis Real-Time Orbital Website or AROW.
Learn more about how Apollo builds on Artemis and how is Orion designed for human missions into deep space.
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