Orion spacecraft makes final swoop of moon and heads home to Earth

NASA's Orion capsule has made 1 last swoop astir the satellite connected its mode backmost location - taking successful a mates of Apollo landing sites en route.

The capsule passed wrong 80 miles of the acold broadside of the moon, utilizing lunar gravity arsenic a slingshot for the 237,000-mile (381,414km) travel backmost to Earth.

It has spent a week successful a wide, sweeping lunar orbit.

Once emerging from down the satellite and regaining connection with formation controllers successful Houston, Orion beamed backmost photos of a close-up satellite and a crescent Earth - Earthrise - successful the distance.

"Orion present has its sights acceptable connected home," said ngo power commentator Sandra Jones.

It is aiming for a Pacific splashdown connected Sunday disconnected the seashore of San Diego.

The three-week trial formation has exceeded expectations truthful far, according to officials.

But the biggest situation inactive lies up - hitting the ambiance astatine much than 30 times the velocity of dependable and surviving the fiery re-entry.

During its lunar obit this week, the capsule passed implicit the landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14.

But astatine 1,200 miles (1,931km) up, it was excessively precocious to marque retired the descent stages of the lunar landers oregon thing other near down by astronauts much than 50 years ago.

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Orion blasted disconnected connected 16 November connected the debut formation of NASA's astir almighty rocket ever, the Space Launch System (SLS).

The adjacent formation - successful arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2024 - volition effort to transportation 4 astronauts astir the moon.

The 3rd mission, targeted for 2025, volition diagnostic the archetypal lunar landing by astronauts since the Apollo satellite programme ended 50 years agone this month.

Apollo 17 rocketed distant connected 7 December 1972 from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, carrying Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ron Evans.

Mr Cernan and Mr Schmitt spent 3 days connected the lunar surface, the longest enactment of the Apollo era, portion Mr Evans orbited the moon.

Only Mr Schmitt is inactive alive.