By Dell Dumont

Graphics

On Dec. 11, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Orion spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 9:40 AM after traveling more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon. This mission completes the Artemis I flight test. During the mission, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles from our home planet, more than 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station orbits Earth. Early analysis indicates that all of Orion’s gear passed the test with flying colors — meaning NASA can likely begin preparing for the first crewed Artemis flight, a round-the-moon trip expected in 2024.

(Sources: NASA, NY Times, Space News)