"The spacecraft will first have to punch through the Earth's atmosphere at about 25,000 miles per hour and experience temperatures upwards of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit."
"As mission pilot Victor Glover put it: It's like 'riding a fireball through the atmosphere.'"
"On return day, the crew will wake up at 11:35 a.m. and begin reconfiguring the Orion capsule for re-entry."
"Before entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will need to ditch its service module which housed thrusters, solar panels, and other spaceflight hardware for the mission."
The Artemis II mission has achieved several milestones, including flying by the moon and witnessing an eclipse. The crew's Orion capsule is scheduled to enter the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean. The astronauts have prepared for re-entry by packing equipment and adjusting the spacecraft's trajectory. The capsule will separate from its service module before re-entry, and communication with Mission Control will be lost for about six minutes during the descent.
Read at www.npr.org
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