NASA's recent mission to the moon broadcast its last live video of Earth, shortly before Orion returned to planet .
See also: Artemis I – NASA: Orion returns from the Moon
The Orion spacecraft successfully completed its landing on December 11, after broadcasting an epic live video of our planet during the final hours of the Artemis 1.
The purpose of the unmanned mission was to test whether the Artemis program is ready for humans and it appeared to be going well, as Artemis 1 completed all of its main objectives: The spacecraft, orbit around the moon and its reentry into Earth's atmosphere at high speeds were successful, as was its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near a recovery ship.
Orion is a spacecraft designed to carry humans and flew farther into space than Apollo 13.The previous record holder, Apollo 13, only made it as far as circling the moon due to an emergency in the spacecraft.
See also: Artemis mission: NASA's Orion returns to Earth on Sunday
The Artemis 1 Orion mission promises to bring humanity one step closer to space exploration like never before. It will provide invaluable insights into how we can best prepare for longer-duration flights, while also providing us with important data about unexplored regions throughout our solar system that could lead to amazing discoveries about our universe when properly analyzed.
Yesterday's Orion water landing came on the anniversary of another Apollo program milestone: Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to land on the moon, taking place on December 11, 1972. NASA officials hope to resume missions within three years.
Artemis 2 will come first, hosting a crew to test life support systems. Artemis 1 tested systems only on mock-ups. If the Artemis 2 mission goes ahead as planned in 2024, it will be followed by another mission expected to return astronauts to the moon in 2025 or 2026.
See also: NASA Artemis: The first images of the moon from Orion
Although not essential for a successful lunar landing, NASA is also developing a space station called Gateway, which will serve as a base for future Artemis missions. The agency plans to complete multiple missions, both crewed and uncrewed, in the 2020s and beyond.
