"Orion" capsule swung into orbit of the moon

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A look back at Earth: recorded by a camera on a solar cell array in the »Orion« ​​capsule

Photo: Uncredited / dpa

Around ten days after launch, the Orion capsule of NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission swung into orbit around the moon.

The unmanned capsule fired its engines as planned during its test flight on Friday and swung into orbit, the US space agency Nasa said.

The capsule will fly around the moon in the opposite direction to Earth.

According to NASA, the selected orbit has the advantage that it is very stable and "Orion" consumes comparatively little fuel on it.

“Orion” needs six days for just half an orbit.

After months of postponement, the "Artemis 1" mission set off on November 16 for a first test launch.

The Orion capsule was launched on the Space Launch System rocket from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in the US state of Florida.

According to NASA, a few days ago she had approached the moon as far as was not planned again during the entire test mission – to around 130 kilometers.

The unmanned capsule is said to be on the road for around two weeks before it is expected to return to earth on December 11 after around two million kilometers of flight.

In the coming years, it should then bring astronauts to the moon - the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

sak/dpa