NASA published a 25-minute video recorded during the return to Earth of the Artemis I Orion capsule, a year after that unmanned mission to the moon’s orbit.

The images were taken by a camera installed on top of the capsule and reproduce the end of the path taken by the spacecraft from space to the ground through the Earth’s atmosphere on December 11, 2022. after a 25-day journey during which he covered 2.25 million kilometersdetails Europe Press.

You can first see the total darkness of space, then the curvature of the Earth, followed by the effect of intense heat due to friction upon reentry into the atmosphere, and finally the blue of the sky and the parachutes deployed before they reach the ground. .

Artemis I landed near Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California. Just before reentering the atmosphere, the crewed module and the service module separated and only the former returned to Earth, while the service module disintegrated in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Using a new technique, the crew module plunged into the upper atmosphere of Earth and used that atmosphere, along with the capsule’s ascent, to exit the atmosphere and then reenter for a final parachute jump and a splash down. This technique will enable safe reentry for future Artemis missions regardless of when and where they return from the moon, NASA reports.

Orion entered our planet’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour and at temperatures of about 2,760 degrees Celsius., which made it through thanks to the largest heat shield ever built. The atmosphere initially slowed the spacecraft to 523 km/h, but then the parachutes slowed as the spacecraft descended through Earth’s atmosphere.

The parachute deployment began at an altitude of approximately 5 miles, with three small parachutes dismantling the craft’s foredecks. Once the foredeck was separated from the ship, two floating parachutes slowed and stabilized the crew module for main parachute deployment. At an altitude of less than 3,000 meters with a spacecraft speed of 210 km/h, three pilot parachutes lifted and deployed the main parachutes. These 115-foot-diameter nylon parachutes slowed the Orion crew module to a landing speed of only about 20 mph.

Once in the water, rescue teams continued to recover the capsule and any hardware discarded during the landing, including the ship’s foredeck and three main parachutes. (JO)