NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft prepares for splashdown to Earth on Dec 11: When and where to watch
As the Artemis 1 mission approaches the Earth, the Moon seems smaller from Orion's vantage point.
NASA specialists are getting ready for the Orion spacecraft's splashdown as it continues to return to Earth as part of the Artemis 1 mission. On Sunday, December 11, at 12.40 PM ET (11.10 PM IST), Orion will make a splashdown on Guadalupe island, Mexico in the Pacific.
The space body will also be offering live streaming of the same. The live feed will start on December 11 at 11:10 IST. Through NASA TV, YouTube, and the agency's official app, users may watch the live stream.
The crew module will separate from the service module and continue its splashdown toward the Pacific Ocean before re-entering the earth's atmosphere. (Also Read: The Big Picture: How AAP bolstered BJP's historic win in Gujarat polls while earning 'national party' tag for itself)
During reentry, the service module will burn up in the atmosphere of Earth. The Artemis 1 descent has been carefully managed by NASA to prevent any danger to people, property, or shipping lanes from the spacecraft's leftover components.
Following its separation from the service module, Orion's crew module will use a "skip entry" manoeuvre, a first for a manned spacecraft, to accurately splash down at the landing spot. In order to accomplish this, Orion will first dive into the upper atmosphere, using that gas and the lift of the capsule to "skip" out of the atmosphere. It will then reenter before making its last, parachute-assisted drop.
NASA claims that regardless of when and where future Artemis missions return from the Moon, this technology will enable a safe reentry.
The atmosphere of our planet will cause the spacecraft to slow to around 523 kilometres per hour during reentry. Three tiny parachutes will peel back the coverings of the forward bays to start the parachute deployment process at an altitude of roughly 8 kilometres. Two drogue parachutes will be launched after the cover separates. These will cause the crew module to decelerate and stabilise.
The spacecraft ought to be falling at a rate of roughly 210 km/h at a height of about 2,800 metres. Three pilot parachutes will now lift and extend the main parachutes at this point. Orion will be slowed down to a speed of around 32 kilometres per hour for splashdown by these 35-meter-diameter nylon parachutes.