Tag: orion spacecraft

Europe shoots for the moon with role in NASA programme
15Feb By adminNo Comments
Technology

Europe shoots for the moon with role in NASA programme

[ad_1] European astronauts could walk on the Moon for the first time in the coming years, in exchange for the continent taking on a key role in an ambitious NASA space programme. The US space agency's Artemis programme aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the historic Apollo missions, which ended in 1972. For the first time, the European Space Agency (ESA) and European aerospace giant Airbus have been entrusted with supplying vital "service modules" (ESMs) for NASA's Orion spacecraft. In exchange, Europe has three guaranteed seats on the mission's flights, probably from 2027, although discussions are ongoing to try to get earlier spots. The role of the Europeans is vital -- they are providing "half of the spacecraft that will take people to the Moon and, o...
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Awesome! Earth rising behind the Moon! A miracle? Check how NASA did it
29Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

Awesome! Earth rising behind the Moon! A miracle? Check how NASA did it

[ad_1] NASA has shared a rare view of Earth rising behind the Moon! Here is how it captured the rare peekaboo moment when Earth popped up behind our Moon. In a rare moment that is simply amazing, NASA captured the Earth and the Moon in a way that seems simply miraculous. NASA has shared an animated video that shows our Earth rising behind the Moon. No miracle this, but simply a bit of science and tech. The image was captured by NASA's Orion spacecraft of the Artemis I mission. NASA also said that the shared video is 900 times the actual speed and has been rotated and cropped. In the video, Earth's disk seems to disappear behind the Moon while it re-emerges from the other side. The video is captured on Day 13 of the Artemis I missions' Orion capsule's 26-day uncrewed mission, that is N...
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NASA’s Orion spacecraft returns to Earth after historic Moon mission
12Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA’s Orion spacecraft returns to Earth after historic Moon mission

[ad_1] NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday after a record-breaking mission. NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 9:40 a.m. PST on Sunday after a record-breaking mission, traveling more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon and returning safely to Earth, completing the Artemis I flight test. Splashdown is the final milestone of the Artemis I mission that began with a successful liftoff of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on November 16, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Over the course of 25.5 days, NASA tested Orion in the harsh environment of deep space before flying astronauts on Artemis II. "The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft - which occurred 5...
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NASA capsule flies over Apollo landing sites, heads home
6Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA capsule flies over Apollo landing sites, heads home

[ad_1] NASA's Orion capsule and its test dummies swooped one last time around the moon Monday, flying over a couple Apollo landing sites before heading home. Orion will aim for a Pacific splashdown Sunday off San Diego, setting the stage for astronauts on the next flight in a couple years. The capsule passed within 80 miles (130 kilometers) of the far side of the moon, using the lunar gravity as a slingshot for the 237,000-mile (380,000-kilometer) ride back to Earth. It spent a week in a wide, sweeping lunar orbit. Once emerging from behind the moon and regaining communication with flight controllers in Houston, Orion beamed back photos of a close-up moon and a crescent Earth — Earthrise — in the distance. “Orion now has its sights set on home," said Mission Control commentator...
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Moon mission success! NASA Orion spacecraft enters lunar orbit
26Nov By adminNo Comments
Technology

Moon mission success! NASA Orion spacecraft enters lunar orbit

[ad_1] NASA's Orion spacecraft was placed in lunar orbit Friday, officials said, as the much-delayed Moon mission proceeded successfully. NASA's Orion spacecraft was placed in lunar orbit Friday, officials said, as the much-delayed Moon mission proceeded successfully. A little over a week after the spacecraft blasted off from Florida bound for the Moon, flight controllers "successfully performed a burn to insert Orion into a distant retrograde orbit," the US space agency said on its web site. The spacecraft is to take astronauts to the Moon in the coming years -- the first to set foot on its surface since the last Apollo mission in 1972. This first test flight, without a crew on board, aims to ensure that the vehicle is safe. "The orbit is distant in that Orion will fly about ...
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NASA’s Orion Capsule Comes Within 81 Miles of the Moon
22Nov By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA’s Orion Capsule Comes Within 81 Miles of the Moon

[ad_1] NASA’s new Orion crew capsule came within 81 miles of the lunar surface Monday. NASA's new Orion crew capsule came within 81 miles of the lunar surface Monday. Its path also took the spacecraft over the Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base, where astronauts first landed on the moon in 1969.The flyby occurred after Orion ignited its main engine for 2 1/2 minutes, a critical maneuver that put the vehicle on course to enter the moon's orbit later this week.  The lunar approach is part of NASA's Artemis I mission, which launched from Florida early on Nov. 16. The flight is the first major mission in the space agency's Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman and the first person of color to the moon. No astronauts are on board Orion. Artemis I is testing the hardware...
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