NASA’s Orion Capsule Returns From Moon Test Flight

NASA said its Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of Baja, California, on Sunday, December 11, completing the Artemis I flight test after a 25.5-day mission to orbit the Moon.

NASA said it tested Orion in the harsh environment of deep space before its plans to fly astronauts on Artemis II.

“The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing – is the crowning achievement of Artemis I," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

“From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration,” Nelson said. Credit: NASA via Storyful

Video transcript

- Splashdown. From Tranquility Base to Taurus-Littrow to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA's journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on Earth. Unofficial splashdown time 11:40 and 30 seconds AM, central time.

Splashdown. From Tranquility Base to Taurus-Littrow to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA's journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on Earth. Unofficial splashdown time 11:40 and 30 seconds AM, central time.