The Orion capsule will be the protagonist of Artemis II, the mission with which our species will return to set foot on the Moon. It is not yet certain when NASA will give the green light for departure. According to the latest plans we should see the launch in 2026.
Four astronauts. They are the ones who should return to the Moon for a mission that will open a new chapter in the history of space exploration. The mission is organized by NASA, it is called Artemis II and for now it should be set for 2026. There have already been other postponements, it does not mean that there aren’t still others. NASA recently completed a 11 month long test campaign on Orionthe capsule that should fly astronauts to the Moon.
NASA again postpones the launch of Artemis 2 to the Moon: the mission with astronauts is postponed to 2026
The Orion capsule was the great protagonist of Artemis I, the mission that ended in December 2022 and which allowed NASA to plot the route for the first moon landing never attempted by our species since 1972when the astronaut Eugen Andrew Cernan he left lunar soil before returning to Earth.
Orion has a fundamental role in this whole operation: it is a capsule that must resist efforts and very high temperatures. On the entirely uncrewed Artemis I mission, its heat shield had to withstand a temperature of 2,800 degrees Celsius. In one of the latest tests, however, it faced a very complex emergency scenario.
The test in case of mission failure
The most difficult test for Orion was undertaken at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility located in Sandusky, Ohio. Here the capsule reaction during alaunch-related emergencyone of the most delicate phases of his entire mission.
Robert Overy, project manager, said: “This event would represent the greatest stress and highest load that any of the systems would see.” For now, all clear. The test went well: “We are still analyzing the data, but preliminary results show that the vehicle and structure performed as desired.”
NASA | The Orion capsule
