Washington - (AFP) - After flying over the moon and passing a distance not reached by any habitable capsule before, NASA's Orion space capsule lands Sunday in the Pacific Ocean, in the final phase of the "Artemis 1" mission that involves high stakes for the space agency. American.

The capsule will enter the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour and a temperature of 2,800 degrees Celsius, equivalent to half the temperature of the sun's surface.

The capsule is supposed to land off the Mexican island of Guadalupe at 5:39 pm GMT (9:39 am local time).

The success of this mission, which lasted a little more than 25 days, is of great importance to NASA, which has invested tens of billions of dollars in the American "Artemis" program to return to the moon aimed at preparing for a future trip to Mars.

The first test flight of this new vehicle, which this time was unmanned, has been a complete success so far.
However, the main goal should be achieved in the last minutes of the mission, when the heat shield of Orion, which represents the largest capsule ever manufactured (5 meters in diameter), will be tested.

"The heat shield is an essential part in terms of safety, as it is designed to protect the spacecraft and its occupants," said mission officer Mike Saravin, stressing that the heat shield must function as expected.

In 2014, the capsule underwent a first test without leaving Earth's orbit, and subsequently entered the atmosphere at a slower speed (about 32,000 kilometers per hour).

The USS Portland ship of the US Navy was equipped with the aim of transporting the capsule on board, in a mission that NASA crews have been training for years. Helicopters and inflatable boats will also be deployed at the site.

The speed of the spacecraft will be reduced by the Earth's atmosphere first, then its descent will be slowed by 11 parachutes, until it reaches a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour when it touches the surface of the water.

After landing, the capsule will be left in the water for two hours, much longer than if it were manned, in order to collect data.
"We will monitor how the capsule absorbs heat and how this affects the temperature inside," said Jim Jeffrey, responsible for "Orion" at NASA.

After that, a group of divers will attach cables to the capsule to drag it to the ship, which will have one side of its aft section submerged in water. Water will then be pumped in to slowly stabilize the capsule on a specially designed base.
The process is expected to take four to six hours from the time the capsule lands.

The ship will then head to San Diego on the US West Coast, where the capsule will be dropped off a few days later.
In total, the spacecraft will have traveled more than 2.2 million kilometers in space since it took off on November 16 as part of the first flight of NASA's giant new rocket "SLS".

Orion flew over the moon, less than 130 kilometers from its surface, and moved away from the planet for more than 430,000 kilometers.

The return of the capsule will enable the collection of a large number of important data for the next space missions, by providing details of the condition of the vehicle after its flight, analyzes of recordings of the speed and vibration sensors that occurred on board the vehicle, and by analyzing the performance of the anti-radiation jacket.

It is assumed that some parts of Orion will be reused in the capsule designated for the "Artemis 2" mission.

This second mission, expected in 2024, will transport astronauts around the moon without landing. NASA is expected to announce soon the names of the astronauts selected for this mission.

As for the "Artemis 3" mission, officially scheduled for 2025, it will allow landing on the southern side of the moon, where water ice is recorded.

Only 12 men, all of them white, stepped on the surface of the moon as part of the Apollo mission in 1972, that is, fifty years ago.

The "Artemis" program aims to send the first woman and the first person of color to the moon.

NASA aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon through a base on its surface and a space station orbiting around it, in preparation for heading to Mars, perhaps in the late 2030s.