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After a test flight around the Moon, the Orion spacecraft landed on Earth around 6:40 p.m. Dutch time on Sunday. Earlier today, a commercial unmanned lunar lander from Japan was launched to the Moon.
After years of preparation, Orion launched on November 16. The craft should take people to the moon and back in a few years.
To test all systems, the Orion has now circled the moon unmanned. The return trip began a little over a week ago. On Sunday, the Orion made landfall in the Pacific Ocean off the Mexican peninsula of Baja California.
The ship consisted of two parts. In the bow was the American part, where the crew would later be. At the rear, in the European part, were the propulsion and the Dutch solar panels that produce electricity, among other things.
Just before re-entry into the atmosphere, the parts separated. The European part burned up in the atmosphere, the American part slowed down and finally plunged into the sea hanging from parachutes.
A Japanese missile has just been launched
On Sunday morning, a Japanese rocket with a commercial unmanned lunar lander was just launched. The launch was delayed twice last week due to additional checks.
The Japanese ispace wants to be the first commercial company to land on the moon. So far, only the United States, the Soviet Union (Russia) and China have succeeded. Attempts by Israel and India have failed.
In the long term, ispace wants to extract raw materials and water on the moon. It could help build a manned base on the moon. The Hakuto-R mission is intended to test the design and technology.
Scout Rashid also accompanies
Scout Rashid also travels with the lander. It was developed by the United Arab Emirates. The trolley is to roll on the moon for about two weeks to conduct scientific research with cameras and sensors.
Rashid weighs around 10 kilos, is over 50 centimeters long and wide and around 70 centimeters high. In 2020, an Emirates satellite visited Mars.
The lander and orbiter were flown into space by SpaceX, the space company of businessman Elon Musk. The launch took place from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral’s historic space base.
