Artemis 1: the Orion capsule in orbit 80,500 km from the Moon

mission

faces another important milestone: the entry of the

capsule into distant retrograde orbit (Dro), i.e. an orbit in which the spacecraft will move around the Moon in the opposite direction to that in which the Moon moves around the Earth, and which is at a high altitude, almost 80,500 kilometers from the lunar surface.

It is a new important

of NASA's Artemis 1 mission, a forerunner of the return to the Moon.  

It is therefore a very large orbit, so much so that the

will take

to cover half of it.

During this period, new experiments are planned, in addition to those conducted in recent days, during the move of Orion to a distant orbit.

Currently,

informs , about a third of the tests planned for the

that measures the positions of the stars to help the vehicle orient itself correctly have been performed.

In these tests, as in those scheduled for the next few days, the tools of

supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and with a lot of technology from our country, through the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and industry.     

On

Orion will return to approach the Moon to begin its return journey to Earth, where it is expected to return

with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.

The service module is instead intended to burn on impact with the atmosphere

ANSA/NASA/BILL INGALLS

Artemis 1, Orion capsule