๐ NASA Artemis II Recovery Training
: How Orion Will Be Safely Retrieved After Its Moon Mission ๐
๐ What’s the Goal?
The purpose of this training is to thoroughly master the procedures necessary to safely recover the Orion spacecraft and crew during the Artemis II mission. NASA and the Department of Defense team successfully completed Underway Recovery Test-12 (URT-12), officially certifying their readiness for recovery operations.
Artemis II will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon. This mission marks the first crewed lunar exploration flight under the Artemis program and serves as a crucial stepping stone toward future Mars exploration missions.
๐ How Will the Orion Spa
cecraft Be Recovered?
When Orion returns to Earth, it will reenter the atmosphere, slowing from approximately 25,000 mph (about 40,233 km/h) to around 325 mph (about 523 km/h). Following that, a system of 11 parachutes will deploy in sequence, further reducing its speed to a gentle 20 mph (about 32 km/h) before splashdown off the coast of California.The spacecraft will travel approximately 1,775 nautical miles (about 3,287 km) from reentry to its landing point in the Pacific Ocean. This direct approach is designed to minimize the time the spacecraft spends enduring extreme temperature conditions.
๐ Comprehensive Training for Various Scenarios
In February 2024, the Artemis II astronauts participated in URT-11, where they practiced various recovery operations at sea using a Crew Module Test Article as a stand-in for the actual spacecraft. During the recent URT-12 training, NASA astronauts Deniz Burnham and Andre Douglas, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano, engaged in similar exercises. They transitioned from a simulated crew module to the USS Somerset, working alongside Navy divers, helicopters, small boats, and NASA’s open water specialists to rehearse a variety of recovery scenarios.
๐ช Safety-First Recovery Procedures
Once the astronauts reach the ship safely, they undergo medical checkups to assess their condition. Meanwhile, the recovery team focuses on transporting the Orion spacecraft and its auxiliary support hardware to the ship’s well deck.
Navy divers attach a connection collar to the spacecraft and connect an additional line to a pneumatic winch located within the USS Somerset’s well deck. This setup allows the NASA and Navy teams to tow Orion toward the ship. Sailors and NASA recovery personnel manually pull some of the lines to align Orion with its stand, securing the spacecraft for its journey back to shore. After a safe and precise recovery, the crew drains the well deck of water, and the ship heads back to Naval Base San Diego.
๐ A Bold Step Toward Humanity’s Future
This training serves as a critical process to validate the foundational systems and hardware necessary for deep space exploration. Through the Artemis II mission, NASA is taking another significant step toward returning to the lunar surface, which will ultimately help prepare for human missions to Mars. By ensuring a meticulous training process, NASA and its partners are prioritizing the safety of the crew and building a strong foundation for future space exploration. The success of the Artemis II mission is highly anticipated! ๐๐
