Deep Space Habitat

A view of NASA’s Orion spacecraft shortly after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, December 11, 2022. Photo: NASAA fully intact and toasty-hot Orion spacecraft came home on Sunday from its trip around the Moon, splashing down off the coast of Baja, California. The historic mission ended as it began, with a fiery trip through Earth’s atmosphere, and with NASA pulling off one daring accomplishment after another. Similar to the other phases of this impressive 25.5-day mission, the uncrewed capsule’s reentry,…

Orion’s triumphant return. Gif: NASA/GizmodoThe uncrewed Orion spacecraft performed a flawless splashdown in the Pacific Ocean earlier today, in what is a very promising and exciting start to the Artemis era of lunar missions.A recovery team led by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems is in the midst of recovering the capsule, a careful process that can take upwards of five hours to complete. Orion splashed down at 12:40 p.m. ET as expected, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Guadalupe Island near Baja, California.…

Orion’s view of the Moon and crescent Earth moments after completing its second close lunar flyby on December 5.Photo: NASAOrion’s most recent accomplishments include a new distance record, a close flyby of the Moon, and a trajectory correction maneuver that sent the uncrewed capsule on its journey back to Earth. Not surprisingly, these milestone events made for some excellent photo opportunities. Artemis 1 is nearly over, with the historic 25.5-day mission concluding just four days from now. It’s been a big success, with…

Orion’s view of the Moon, taken approximately 1 hour prior to today’s lunar flyby. Screenshot: NASA TVThere are less than six days left in the Artemis 1 mission and the time has come for the uncrewed Orion spacecraft to perform one last close flyby of the Moon and execute a major course correction. You can follow along live right here.During the close lunar flyby, slated for Monday, December 5 at 11:42 a.m. (all times Eastern), Orion will come within 72.9 miles (117.3 kilometers) of the Moon’s surface. The burn will…

Orion with the Moon and Earth in the background. The image was taken on November 28, when Orion was 268,563 miles away from our home planet. Photo: NASAIt’s day 16 of the 25.5-day Artemis 1 mission, which means it’s time for the Orion spacecraft to begin its journey back home. The uncrewed capsule will attempt to depart distant retrograde orbit on Thursday afternoon, and you can follow the action live right here.Orion successfully entered into distant retrograde orbit (DRO) on November 25, but now the spacecraft will move…

The current view inside Orion, featuring the Callisto tech demo. Also, check out the Snoopy plush doll, which is floating just to the bottom-right of center. Photo: NASANASA’s Artemis 1 mission features a host of demonstration technologies, including Callisto—a collaboration between Lockheed Martin, Amazon, and Cisco. The Callisto team is making it possible for anyone to communicate with the system, in which messages will be shown on an iPad screen “for the world to see.” Few of us will ever get the chance to go to space,…

Orion approaching the Moon prior to its outbound powered flyby on November 21, 2022.Photo: NASANASA experienced a data connection glitch between the Orion spacecraft and ground control for nearly an hour early this morning, in a surprising disruption to the craft’s otherwise fair-weather journey around the Moon.Data was lost between Orion and NASA’s Mission Control at Johnson Space Center for 47 minutes, from 1:09 a.m. ET to 1:56 a.m. ET, according to a NASA blog post. The data loss occurred while the team was working on…

Orion captured this view of Earth rising above the darkened Moon shortly after its recent flyby. Gif: NASA/GizmodoWe’re into the eighth day of the 25-day Artemis 1 mission to the Moon, and the incoming imagery has been as spectacular and intriguing as expected.The inaugural Artemis mission is underway, as NASA charts a new path to the Moon. The space agency has big plans for the coming years, but it all starts with Artemis 1 and the first major test of its Orion capsule. Orion captured this view of Earth rising above…

The view shortly before Orion slipped behind the Moon. Earth is visible in the distance.Screenshot: NASA TVThe Artemis 1 mission continues to unfold as planned, with the uncrewed Orion capsule successfully performing a critical course correction maneuver Mondaymorning. NASA’s capsule came to within 80 miles of the lunar surface during the flyby, in what will be Orion’s closest approach.The uncrewed Artemis 1 capsule, launched on November 16, entered into the lunar sphere of influence at 2:09 p.m. (all times Eastern) on…

An artist’s concept of the Artemis 1 mission shortly after launch with a fully extended solar wing array. Image: NASA/Liam YanulisThe Artemis era has officially begun following the successful launch of NASA’s Space Launch System, which delivered the Orion capsule to space. As the spacecraft begins its first uncrewed trip to the Moon and back, NASA’s on-board cameras will document the entire journey.NASA has access to 16 cameras aboard Orion that it’s using to document Artemis 1. Orion is currently on a 25-day mission…