NASA’s Orion capsule lands in the Pacific Ocean after 1.4million mile voyage to the Moon and back

NASA’s Orion space capsule has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after completing a 1.4 million mile voyage to the moon and back that lasted 25 days.

Navy divers waited nearby to recover the spaceship, which splashed down at around 5.40 GMT with a parachute-assisted landing off the coast of Baja California.

The capsule blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 16 on Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as part of the Artemis-1 mission, ushering in a new era of lunar exploration that could see humans return to the moon.

Nine days later, it made history by travelling 270,000 miles beyond the Earth – the furthest any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone. 

Orion splashed down at around 5.40 GMT with a parachute-assisted landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California

Orion successfully separated from its service module at around 5pm GMT today in preparation for its return. It then entered its entry phase, travelling back down to Earth at just under 25,000 miles per hour.

The splashdown was the final hurdle Orion faced in what had otherwise been a successful demonstration mission. The plan is for the craft to take humans around the moon for its next mission, expected in 2024.

There might not have been any humans on this mission, but returning from the long-haul journey are woolly (toy) spacefarers Snoopy and Shaun the Sheep, alongside three mannequin astronauts – dubbed Commander Moonikin Campos, Helga and Zohar.

David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency (ESA), described Shaun’s mission as ‘a small step for a human, but a giant leap for lambkind’.

NASA’s unmanned Orion spaceship approaching Earth as it returned from its Moon mission

Navy divers waited nearby to recover the spaceship and will now pull the capsule – and its passengers – on board

Orion and its toy passengers braved a bumpy ride back as the spacecraft hurtled towards Earth at about 25,000mph, with outside temperatures approaching 3,000C.

As it entered the Earth’s atmosphere, Orion’s speed slowed down to around 325mph, before it deployed its 11 parachutes to slow down further to a splashdown speed of 20mph or less.

Recovery teams on a ship waiting off the coast will now pull the capsule – and its passengers – on board.

While the Artemis-1 mission has been all about testing systems, the Artemis II flight test will be NASA’s first mission with astronauts who will fly around the moon.

Orion successfully separated from its service module at around 5pm GMT in preparation for its return

If successful, Artemis II will pave the way to land the first woman and next man on the moon as part of Artemis III.

The last manned mission to the moon was Apollo 17 in December 1972.

The Artemis missions are part of Nasa’s long-term plans to build a space station – called Lunar Gateway – where astronauts will be able to live and work.

The building of the Lunar Gateway will include contributions from scientists and engineers in the UK, including from Thales Alenia Space UK and Imperial College London, with backing from the UK Space Agency.