Artemis II marked a key step in its return to Earth late Tuesday, as the Orion spacecraft fired its engines to fine-tune its path home.
At 8:03 p.m. Eastern Time, Orion, named Integrity, performed its first return trajectory correction burn. The 15-second firing adjusted the spacecraft’s velocity by 1.6 feet per second, a small but critical change that aligned the crew’s course back toward Earth. NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen oversaw the maneuver, reviewing procedures and closely tracking navigation and system data.
During a mission status briefing the same day, officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released the first images captured during the crew’s lunar flyby, offering early visual data from the historic pass around the Moon. The agency also confirmed that the USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) has departed port and is en route to a staging position in the Pacific Ocean, where it will support recovery operations following splashdown.
NASA said it will continue to share updates on recovery logistics and weather conditions in its daily briefings.
With the burn complete, the crew is expected to rest before beginning a new round of flight objectives on Wednesday, April 8, focused on preparing for reentry.
Among the scheduled tasks is a test of an orthostatic intolerance garment, equipment designed to help astronauts regulate blood pressure and circulation as they transition from microgravity to Earth’s gravity. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Koch and Hansen will evaluate how effectively the garment supports cardiovascular stability during the return phase.
Later in the day, the crew will take manual control of Orion as part of a piloting demonstration. Using the spacecraft’s viewing systems, they will align with a designated target and guide Orion into a tail-to-Sun orientation while comparing its control modes.
The manual piloting test is scheduled to begin at 9:59 p.m., adding another layer of real-time data to NASA’s assessment of the spacecraft’s performance during its journey home.
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Artemis II Update-21, Day 7: First Return Correction Burn Complete added by Arun Kumar N on
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