The propulsion system, housed in the service module, has 33 engines, including a powerful main engine for major deep-space manoeuvres over vast distances. Orion’s life support systems use advanced environmental control to keep astronauts safe and healthy during long-duration missions. Radiation protection shields both crew and onboard systems from intense cosmic and solar exposure in deep space. The spacecraft’s heat shield is designed to withstand atmospheric re-entry temperatures of about 2,760°C.

The craft travels towards Earth from a lunar distance of roughly 4 lakh km at a speed of nearly 39,750 km/h. Also, the mission has support from specialised communication and navigation systems, which permit operations beyond Earth’s satellite networks, where the GPS is unavailable. There is built-in redundancy to ensure that critical systems, such as onboard computers, remain functional throughout the mission.[i]

This mission is carrying four astronauts towards the Moon. This mission is a flyby mission; the spacecraft would not land on the lunar surface but would travel in proximity to the Moon. This is a 10-day mission, and eight days would be consumed by travel to the Moon and back. After reaching Earth orbit, the rocket’s upper stage will push Orion into a highly elliptical orbit, where the mission will remain for about a day. At the same time, the crew and ground teams inspect and verify that all systems are functioning properly and are ready for the journey towards the Moon. During this phase, astronauts will also take manual control of the spacecraft to conduct........

© IDSA