On November 16 2022, Orion capsule was launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on a 26-day mission designed to stretch its systems and make sure it is safe to carry astronauts.” Orion is being pushed through space by a service module provided by the European Space Agency (Esa)”.

-distance record-

On Monday, it left Earth’s orbit by a distance of around 430,000 kilometres (270,000 miles), making history as the furthest any spaceship designed to carry humans has ever travelled. The space agency confirmed Monday evening that “the Orion capsule had reached the midpoint of its uncrewed mission around the moon” — about 270,000 miles (434,523 kilometres) from Earth. According to the US Space Agency,” the capsule has travelled more than 40,000 miles (64,374 kilometres) beyond the far side of the moon” and reached its farthest distance from Earth Monday afternoon. BBC-“The ship is uncrewed on this occasion, but if it completes the current flight without incident, astronauts will be on the next outing in two years.”  

-The goal of the Artemis I mission-

This mission aims to test the Orion capsule to its limits, ensuring the vehicle is ready to safely host humans (There are no humans in the capsule). “The trial run is part of NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the 1970s,” as cnn.com mention.

-Landing-

CNN-“The spacecraft is now expected to swoop back toward the moon before firing its engines on Thursday to exit its current trajectory and head back toward Earth.” The Orion capsule is on track to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on December 11.

-Orion back on Earth-

under a canopy of parachutes, the gumdrop-shaped capsule slowed to just 20 miles per hour instead of 40 000 miles and plucked down in the ocean of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula at 12h45 p.m, demonstrating a high stakes homecoming before flying its first crew of astronauts around the moon, which could come as early as 2024. Nasa is planning a series of ever more complex missions with Orion.