Orion splashes down after lunar voyage

Washington: Nasa´s Orion space capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific on Sunday, completing the Artemis 1 mission -- a more than 25-day journey around the Moon with an eye to returning humans there in just a few years.

After racing through the Earth´s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour (25,000 mph), the uncrewed capsule floated down to the sea with the help of three large red and white parachutes, as seen on Nasa TV.

After a few hours of tests, the vessel will be recovered by a US Navy ship in waters off the coast of Mexico´s Baja California. The capsule shaped like a gumdrop had to withstand a temperature 2,800 degrees Centigrade (5,000 Fahrenheit) -- about half that of the surface of the sun -- as it entered the Earth´s atmosphere.

The main goal of this mission was to test Orion´s heat shield -- for the day when it is humans and not test mannequins riding inside. Achieving success in this mission was key for Nasa, which has invested tens of billions of dollars in the Artemis program due to take people back to the Moon and prepare for an onward trip, someday, to Mars.

A first test of the capsule was carried out in 2014 but that time it stayed in Earth´s orbit, coming back into the atmosphere at a slower speed of around 20,000 miles per hour. The USS Portland was positioned to recover the Orion capsule in an exercise Nasa has been rehearsing for years. Helicopters and inflatable boats were also deployed for this task.

The falling spacecraft eased to a speed of 20 miles (30 kilometers) per hour as it finally hit the blue waters of the Pacific. Nasa will now let Orion float for two hours -- a lot longer than if astronauts were inside -- so as to collect data. “We´ll see how the heat soaks back into the crew module and how that affects the temperature inside,” Jim Geffre, Nasa´s Orion vehicle integration manager, said last week.