CHENNAI: NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to conclude with the splashdown of its Orion spacecraft on April 10, marking the end of a 10-day crewed journey around the Moon.
The return will be broadcast live globally across platforms, allowing viewers to watch the re-entry and splashdown in real time.
A set of pilot parachutes and three massive main parachute will deploy, and the splashdown will occur in the Pacific Ocean.
The Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts is returning to earth on April 10 at approximately 8:07 pm EDT (around 5:37 am IST on April 11).
Viewers can watch the splashdown live on NASA’s official platforms, including NASA+, as well as on the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP) livestream.
In India, the event will also be available on platforms such as Netflix, to begin on 4 am on April 11.
The astronauts will review the re-entry and splashdown procedures and conduct a return trajectory correction burn.
Following splashdown, recovery operations will be carried out by US Navy teams, with astronauts to be transported to a recovery ship for medical checks.
The initial fall will be at a whopping speed of 40,000 km per hour and the air in front of spacecraft will compress, marking rise in temperatures outside to nearly 2,700 degree Celsius.
The Artemis II mission is part of NASA’s broader programme aimed at advancing human space exploration and future missions to the Moon.
The mission marks the first time in over 50 years that astronauts have travelled around the Moon, covering nearly 695,000 miles during the journey.