Artemis 2 returns to Earth tonight. Re-entry into the atmosphere, the most dangerous moment
On the night of Friday into Saturday, April 10-11, NASA's Artemis 2 mission returns from its journey to the Moon. Returning from space is no easy feat, especially since it's the first time a crew has flown aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Artemis II mission crew/PHOTO: Profimedia
According to Space.com, the most dangerous part of the journey comes next: a 13-minute descent through Earth's atmosphere at about 38,600 km/h, which will expose them to temperatures of up to 2,760°C, with only the heat shield for protection and parachutes to slow them down.
“All systems tested over the past nine days, from life support and navigation to propulsion and communications, prove their effectiveness in the final minutes of flight,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.
“We trust the heat shield, in parachutes and recovery systems.”
The Orion capsule returns to Earth on April 11, at 03:07 (Romania time), through a dive in the Pacific Ocean, after a 10-day mission, and the event can be watched live starting at 01:30.
NASA will wake up the astronauts at 18:35 (Romania time), marking the beginning of their last day in space. The mission control center will wake them up with a melody, similar to an alarm clock. Air traffic controllers used such tunes every day of the mission.
After awakening, the crew has time to prepare, then they begin the final activities in space.
At 20:50 (Romanian time), a little over three hours after the start of the program, the astronauts begin preparing the Orion capsule for re-entry into the atmosphere. This involves storing equipment that is no longer needed, preparing seats and other operations necessary for descent into the atmosphere.
The Orion corrects its trajectory, and the crew then completes preparations for re-entry. The last checks start at 00:05 (Romanian time).
The moment of landing will be broadcast on Youtube and streaming services
At 01:30 (Romanian time), NASA will officially begin broadcasting the landing through a live program on NASA+, the agency's free streaming service. The broadcast will also be available on YouTube, but also on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Communications are transferred to the satellites, then the crew module separates from the service module and the capsule performs a maneuver to distance itself from it before re-entry.
At 02:53 (Romanian time), Orion enters the Earth's atmosphere at approximately 38,600 km/h, at an altitude of approximately 120 km. The heat shield will withstand temperatures of up to 2,760°C, and astronauts will experience forces of approximately 3.9G.
The re-entry of the Orion capsule into the Earth's atmosphere takes 13 minutes and is the most critical phase of the mission.
During re-entry, communications will be temporarily disrupted (normal and expected) due to the extremely hot plasma forming around the capsule.
The capsule will re-enter the atmosphere southeast of Hawaii and travel approximately 3,200 km to the docking site.
Starting at 03:03 (Romanian time), the parachutes will be opened to slow down the capsule. Two stabilization parachutes will open first, followed by three main parachutes.
At 03:07 (Romanian time), the astronauts will return to Earth through a descent into the Pacific Ocean, at a speed of approximately 32 km/h.
It is the first ocean landing since the 1972 Apollo 17 moon mission.
At 04:07 (Romanian time), the crew will be recovered from the Orion capsule and transported to a military ship, where they will undergo medical checks before being transferred to the USA. NASA will hold a press conference at 05:30 with details about the astronauts' condition and the mission.
The Artemis II mission set a distance record from Earth
The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission set a new distance record from Earth on Monday, surpassing the performance of the Apollo program. The team is going to fly over unknown regions of the Moon and its hidden face for several hours.
The previous record of 400,171 km, set by the Apollo 13 mission, has been surpassed, NASA announced. Astronauts in the Orion capsule would reach more than 406,000 km from Earth during the flyby around the Moon.
The four astronauts will not go to the moon, but their flight was still a first, because never in any of the Apollo lunar missions (1968-1972) were there female astronauts, black astronauts or non-American astronauts on board.
