NASA is gearing up to drop a 14,000-pound model of the Orion spacecraft into a large pool in Virginia, the latest in a series of drop tests leading up to the eventual Artemis II lunar mission. The test is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. ET and will be seen live on NASA TV (see stream below).
The drop of the mock-up crew module takes place in NASA’s Hydro Impact Basin The new series of tests began on March 23 and aims to finalize computer modeling for payloads and structures ahead of the planned 2023 manned flight to the Moon., a mission called Artemis II (astronauts will not actually land on the moon during this mission – hopefully it will come during Artemis III). The pool is 6 meters deep and contains approximately one and a half Olympic water pools. By dropping the capsule from different angles and at different speeds, NASA engineers understand how the capsule will endure actual conditions, such as entering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing into the ocean.
Before the SpaceX Crew Dragon team landed in the Gulf of Mexico last August, it had been 45 years since NASA had performed a splashdown. Now, half a century after the Apollo program, the Artemis missions will return humans to the moon, with plans to actually land our species on the lunar surface with Artemis III in 2024.The missions should also see the astronauts floating back safely in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
NASA practices every element of the landing, right from its system abort towards spacecraft recovery. The new drop tests will build on the previous splashdowns and further enhance NASA’s awareness of what Orion and his crew will experience in the final, pivotal moments of Artemis II’s return voyage.