NASA’s 25-day Artemis 1 mission came to a successful close on Sunday (Dec. 11) with a splashdown off Mexico’s Baja California coast at 9:40 a.m. PT.
The splashdown, which took place on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 Moon landing, marked the end of the uncrewed Orion capsule’s journey to lunar orbit, which saw it travel a total of about 1.4 million miles (2.25 million kilometers).
The crew-rated capsule was sent to space atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) during the rocket's first-ever launch on Nov. 16. The SLS rocket is the most powerful launch system now available. But the rocket’s first launch had been delayed several times during the summer and fall due to weather and technical issues. Once its engines finally ignited, however, SLS performed flawlessly, lofting the Orion capsule and European Service Module to the Moon.
Apart from minor anomalies, such as an unexpected loss of ...
