Engine tests on the Orion capsule have been completed and it is set to come back to Earth soon. But what has it done lately, and what happens once it returns to Earth?

NASA’s Orion spacecraft has made some close approaches to the Moon. This first flight was never supposed to land on the Moon, future Artemis Missions will, but it did come about 80 miles from its surface on the morning of December 5th.

On November 28th, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission, 268,563 miles from our home planet. Orion has now traveled farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.

Since its launch on November 16th, the mission has been successful and has taken detailed pictures of the Moon, with every movement of the spacecraft entirely calculated.

For example, the 80-mile gap to the surface of the Moon was to harness the Moon’s gravity and use it as a slingshot to come back to Earth.

From Earth, engineers have done multiple tests to ensure the spacecraft works seamlessly, and to make sure anything can be fixed for when the astronauts go aboard the next Artemis 2 Mission, planned for 2024.

Orion was built to withstand the extremely hot temperatures that it will experience once it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This was a crucial test to see how hot it could get for astronauts on future missions.

Splashdown is scheduled to happen on December 11th at 4:43pm GMT, just off the coast of San Diego, California. Rescue teams are already practicing to retrieve Orion from the sea.