Right now, there is no contact with NASA’s Orion capsule as it tears through Earth’s atmosphere, carrying four astronauts back home after a memorable 10-day journey.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen are braving extreme temperatures as the vehicle travels at around 38,600 km/h — approximately 32 times the speed of sound. This return marks the end of the Artemis II mission, the first manned trip to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972, proving that humanity is finally ready to return to the lunar “neighborhood”.
The landing (the famous splashdown) is scheduled for 01:07 (Lisbon time) in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, about 3200 kilometers southwest of San Diego. At this moment, the crew is preparing to open the giant parachutes that will reduce the capsule’s speed for a smooth impact. With the US Navy recovery ship already in place, the world is witnessing the final chapter of this mission that serves as a dress rehearsal for the next big step: the return of humans to the surface of the Moon.
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