NASA breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday when the "Orion" spacecraft that was launched a few weeks ago successfully returned to Earth today (Sunday), thus marking the way for another future launch - this time with humans.
The spacecraft, which was launched after many delays as part of the "Artemis" project, completed a 25-day journey when it crashed as planned in the Pacific Ocean.
The "Orion" spacecraft has returned from its journey to the moon / Reuters
The intention at the moment is to send humans to the moon perhaps even in 2024, and it seems that the completion of the current mission may pave the way for that.
Symbolically, today (Sunday) marks 50 years since humans last set foot on the celestial sphere, in the "Apollo 17" mission.
Unlike the Apollo missions, which were in the midst of the Cold War and the race against the Soviets, where 12 humans set foot on the lunar soil, this time the six-week mission is progressing with more measured steps and without the race against the Soviet Union.
As mentioned, the mission that ended on Sunday was a kind of feasibility experiment.
The rocket circled the moon in order to prepare the ground for a similar but manned launch that will be carried out with astronauts who will land as early as 2024 - if all goes as planned.
On top of the rocket were three mannequins, as mentioned, so that it would be possible to measure the effect of vibrations, acceleration and radiation that humans would experience in space.
All these indicators will be transmitted to the control center through 1,000 different sensors.
The project is called "Artemis" after Apollo's sister in Greek mythology.
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