[Reading Science] Orion Spacecraft Arrives at the Moon Tonight

9:44 PM KST, Reached 130km Above the Moon
Stayed for 4 Days, Then Moved to Far-Side Retrograde Orbit
Return Begins on the 1st of Next Month, Arriving on Earth on the 11th

Concept image of the Orion spacecraft arriving in lunar orbit. Photo by European Space Agency (ESA)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Tonight (the 21st), there is something special about the moon hanging over the heads of Korean people. This is because NASA's Artemis 1 has arrived in lunar orbit.

According to NASA on the 21st, the Orion spacecraft, launched by the Space Launch System of Artemis 1 at 1:47 a.m. on the 16th (U.S. Eastern Time), is expected to arrive in a 130 km orbit above the moon at 7:44 a.m. (9:44 p.m. Korean time) on the same day. After orbiting the moon for four days, the Orion spacecraft will activate one engine around the 25th to travel to the far side of the moon and remain in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) about 64,000 km away. On the 1st of next month, it will ignite another engine to return to Earth and is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on the 11th. NASA will provide a commentary broadcast on its official website starting at 7:15 a.m. that day.

NASA loaded a mannequin on this Orion spacecraft, but plans to send astronauts on Artemis 2, which will follow the same route in 2024. In 2025, four astronauts, including people of color and women, will be sent, with two of them conducting a manned landing on the lunar surface.

Furthermore, based on these exploration results, NASA plans to establish the Luna Gateway, a kind of terminal between the moon and Earth. After the 2030s, they intend to build a base for long-term habitation. To this end, NASA developed the super heavy-lift launch vehicle SLS and the Orion spacecraft capable of long-distance navigation, and after performance verification, plans to use them for manned Mars exploration missions in the 2030s and 2040s.