NASA opens hatch of Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft (photo) - Space.com

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Technicians astatine NASA's Kennedy Space Center successful Florida inspect the interior of NASA's Artemis 1 Orion capsule. Photo released Jan. 10, 2023. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA has started unpacking the Orion spacecraft aft its epic satellite mission.

Technicians astatine NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) successful Florida person opened Orion's hatch and begun removing payloads that flew to the moon and backmost aboard the capsule connected the Artemis 1 mission. This enactment volition instrumentality rather a spot of time.

"This week, technicians volition extract 9 avionics boxes from the Orion, which volition subsequently beryllium refurbished for Artemis 2, the archetypal ngo with astronauts," NASA officials wrote successful an update (opens successful caller tab) connected Tuesday (Jan. 10).

"In the coming months, technicians volition region hazardous commodities that stay connected board. Once complete, the spacecraft volition travel to NASA Glenn's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility [in Ohio] for abort-level acoustic vibration and different biology testing," they added.

Artemis 1 launched connected Nov. 16 from KSC atop a Space Launch System rocket, sending the uncrewed Orion connected a shakeout cruise to lunar orbit. The mission, the archetypal of NASA's Artemis program of satellite exploration, wrapped up erstwhile Orion splashed down disconnected the seashore of Baja California connected Dec. 11.

The capsule past traveled by motortruck crossed the country, arriving backmost astatine KSC connected Dec. 30. Ever since, workers person been inspecting Orion and its assorted systems, assessing however they performed during the astir 26-day Artemis 1 mission.

The capsule's 16.5-foot-wide (5 meters) vigor shield — the largest of its benignant ever flown — is receiving peculiar attention, fixed the utmost conditions it experienced. During Orion's reentry done Earth's ambiance connected Dec. 11, the vigor shield endured temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,800 degrees Celsius), astir fractional arsenic blistery arsenic the aboveground of the sun.

Technicians inspect the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft's vigor shield astatine NASA's Kennedy Space Center successful Florida. Photo released Jan. 6, 2023.

These ongoing inspections volition pass preparations for the Artemis 2 mission, which is scheduled to motorboat astronauts astir the satellite successful 2024.

If each goes good with that flight, NASA tin commencement gearing up for Artemis 3, which volition onshore crewmembers adjacent the moon's southbound pole, wherever the bureau plans to physique a probe outpost by the extremity of the decade. Artemis 3 is targeted to assistance disconnected successful 2025 oregon 2026.

Mike Wall is the writer of "Out There (opens successful caller tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a publication astir the hunt for alien life. Follow him connected Twitter @michaeldwall (opens successful caller tab). Follow america connected Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens successful caller tab) or Facebook (opens successful caller tab).

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Michael Wall is simply a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens successful caller tab) and joined the squad successful 2010. He chiefly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and subject space, but has been known to dabble successful the abstraction creation beat. His publication astir the hunt for alien life, "Out There," was published connected Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a subject writer, Michael worked arsenic a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. successful evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's grade from the University of Arizona, and a postgraduate certificate successful subject penning from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find retired what his latest task is, you tin travel Michael connected Twitter.

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