PHOTO OF THE DAY: NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Gazes at Moon Before Return to Earth

NASA & SPACE NEWS

On flight day 20 of the Artemis I mission, Dec. 5, 2022, Orion captured the Moon on the day of return powered flyby, the final major engine maneuver of the flight test. (NASA image)

(NASA) – On flight day 20 of the Artemis I mission, Dec. 5, 2022, Orion captured the Moon on the day of return powered flyby, the final major engine maneuver of the flight test.

The burn, which used the spacecraft’s main engine on the European-built service module, lasted 3 minutes, and 27 seconds, and changed the velocity of the spacecraft by about 655 mph (961 feet per second).

It also committed the spacecraft to a Dec. 11 splashdown, which will air live on NASA Television, our website, and the NASA app.