The Artemis I mission -- a 25.5-day uncrewed test flight around the moon designed to pave the way for future astronaut missions -- came to a successful conclusion when NASA's Orion spacecraft successfully touched down in the ocean on Sunday.
The spacecraft completed the final leg of its journey, approaching the thick inner layer of Earth's atmosphere after flying 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) between the Moon and Earth. It splashed down at 12:40pm. ET Sunday on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico, reports CNN.
This last step is one of the most important and dangerous parts of the mission.
But after the hose shut down, NASA commentator Rob Navias, who hosts Sunday's broadcast, called the reentry process "textbook."
The capsule is now bobbing up and down the Pacific Ocean, where it will remain until about 3 p.m. ET as NASA collects additional data and runs some tests. The process, much like the rest of the mission, is designed to ensure that the Orion spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts.
"We're testing all of the heat that has come and been generated on the capsule. We want to make sure that we characterize how that's going to affect the interior of the capsule," NASA flight director Judd Frieling told reporters last week.
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