NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft to splash down on December 11: All you need to know

NASA is preparing the re-entry of Artemis 1 Orion into the earth's atmosphere after it has performed its job around the moon.

NASA has done its homework as the spacecraft is scheduled to splash down near Guadalupe island in Mexico. The space body will also be offering live streaming of the same.

When and where can we watch the live streaming of Artemis 1?

The live streaming will begin at 11:10 PM IST, December 11. People can watch the live streaming via NASA's official app, NASA TV, and YouTube.

Before re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, the crew module will separate from the service module and continue its splashdown towards the Pacific Ocean.

Though the service module will be blazed up in the atmosphere, the re-entry has been planned so that the spacecraft's remaining parts do not pose any risk to people, land or the shipping routes.

To avoid harm, NASA has designed a technique known as 'skip entry' to allow the spacecraft to land accurately at the targeted site. To do this, the Orion spacecraft will the first slope into the upper area of the atmosphere, simultaneously lifting the capsule to skip out of the atmosphere.

Following this, the final descent with parachutes will begin.

The earth's atmosphere will slow down the Artemis 1 Orion to around 523 kmph.

FAQs

At what altitude parachute are scheduled to deploy?
The parachutes of Artemis 1 are scheduled to deploy at an altitude of 8 km.

At what speed is the spacecraft expected to fall?
Artemis 1 will fall at a speed of around 210 kmph.