Orion splashes down after record-setting Artemis debut

Orion splashed down at 9.40 am PST on Sunday having travelled more than 1.4 million miles, breaking the record for distance covered by a spacecraft designed for humans, which was previously held by Apollo 13. During the mission, the vehicle performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the Moon’s surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion was almost 270,000 miles from Earth.

“The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing – is the crowning achievement of Artemis I,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

“From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration."

Artemis I launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on November 16^th, powered by the Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket platform ever assembled. Having originally been scheduled to launch at the end of August, the mission was delayed by a succession of setbacks, including engine problems and a tropical storm.