Orion begins its return trip to Earth

(NASA https://go.nasa.gov/3P1W0gF)

The Orion spacecraft made a second close flyby of the moon, reaching a minimum distance of 128 kilometers from the surface of the satellite, and then returning to Earth.

After 6 days of that trip, the Orion capsule should splash down in the ocean.

The Orion flight under the Artemis-1 program has been going on for 20 days.

This is the first flight of the ship in a full configuration, which includes a return capsule and a service module, which runs without a crew, but with biological experiments on board.

During this time, the ship managed to fly to the Moon, make a close flyby and enter a far retrograde circumlunar orbit, where it stayed for a week.

All this time, flight tests of all ship systems are being carried out, since the next Orion flight under the Artemis-2 program will already be with a crew.

On December 1, 2022, Orion turned on its main engine for 95 seconds, making a maneuver out of a far retrograde orbit around the Moon, and on December 3 entered its Hill sphere.

On December 5, the ship made the second close flight around the Moon, finding itself at a minimum distance of 128 kilometers from the surface of the Earth's natural satellite

After that, the capsule entered the flight path to come back to Earth.

The splashdown of the return capsule in the ocean is scheduled for December 11th.

Sources:

• NASA: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/12/04/artemis-i-flight-day-19-orion-prepares-for-close-lunar-flyby-teams-examining-power-conditioning-issue/
• Space.com: https://www.space.com/artemis-1-orion-spacecraft-on-track-to-return-to-Earth
• ESA: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Artemis_lunar_flyby_Orion_is_coming_home

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