After being thrown into outer space On April 1, the astronauts of the Artemis II mission Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wisman and Victor Glover, landed in the Pacific Ocean this afternoon.
It was a “triumphal” return for the capsule crew Orionwhose flyover revealed extensive strips of the hidden face of the Moon and a total eclipse of Sun.
One by one they left the capsule, which descended on autopilot. Koch, Hansen, Wisman and Glover entered the atmosphere at a speed of Mach 33, in other words, 33 times the speed of sound, a pace not recorded since the Apollo lunar voyages. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the 60s and 70s.
Tension was mounting in Mission Control as the capsule became engulfed in red-hot plasma during the peak temperature and communications were disrupted, as expected.
All eyes were on the capsule’s heat shield, which protects the lives of the astronauts and must withstand thousands of degrees of heat upon reentry. On the craft’s only test flight, done without a crew in 2022, the shield’s charred exterior returned to Earth looking like craters on the Moon.
Like so many others, senior flight director Jeff Radigan was prepared to feel some of that “irrational fear that is part of human nature,” especially during the six minutes when communications were interrupted before the doors opened. parachute. The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha awaited the arrival of the crew off the coast of San Diego, along with a squadron of military planes and helicopters.
The astronauts’ families crowded into the Mission Control observation room, where cheers erupted as the capsule emerged from the communications blackout and again upon splashdown.
“A perfect splashdown,” reported Rob Navias of Mission Control.
The president of USA, donald trumpcongratulated the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission and assured that the country will take new steps towards new space explorations, including a possible incursion into Mars.
“The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as president of the United States, I couldn’t be more proud,” he commented on his Instagram account. Social Truth.
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