The four astronauts aboard NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission are expected to return to Earth Friday evening, completing a historic journey that carried them farther into space than any humans have traveled in decades.<\/p>\n
The crew is traveling inside the Orion capsule, which will re-enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere at a blistering speed of about 40,000 kilometres per hour. During the descent, the spacecraft\u2019s heat shield will protect the astronauts from temperatures reaching roughly 2,700 degrees Celsius as a blazing fireball forms around the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Among the crew is Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who made history as the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to participate in a lunar mission. Hansen and his three American crewmates spent the past 10 days on a deep-space journey that marks a major step toward NASA\u2019s goal of returning humans to the Moon.<\/p>\n
During the mission, Hansen communicated with children, journalists and political leaders from space, including conversations with a prime minister and a U.S. president.<\/p>\n
NASA has carefully choreographed the capsule\u2019s return using a series of precisely timed maneuvers, parachute deployments and weather assessments to ensure a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
The space agency plans to begin livestreaming the return process at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.<\/p>\n
At 7:33 p.m., the Orion crew module will separate from its service module, which carries the spacecraft\u2019s solar panels, engines, radiators, oxygen and water tanks.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, at 7:37 p.m., the crew module will perform a burn to position itself correctly for atmospheric entry.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft is expected to begin re-entry at 7:53 p.m., when Orion will hit the upper atmosphere roughly 400,000 feet above Earth.<\/p>\n
Splashdown is scheduled for about 8:07 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams from NASA and the U.S. military will assist the astronauts out of the capsule before transporting them to a recovery ship.<\/p>\n
NASA will hold a post-splashdown news conference at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n
Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield says the final stage of the journey will be physically intense for the crew after more than a week in microgravity.<\/p>\n
During the last 30 minutes of descent, the astronauts will feel strong gravitational forces pushing them into their seats as the spacecraft slows dramatically.<\/p>\n
After experiencing weightlessness for days, the sudden return of gravity can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to hold your head up or lift a finger in space,\u201d Hadfield explained. But as the capsule descends, astronauts begin feeling forces several times their body weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven your eyeballs feel strangely heavy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When the parachutes deploy, the capsule will experience sharp jolts as the massive canopies open and stabilize the spacecraft.<\/p>\n
Once the parachutes fully deploy, the descent becomes much smoother until the spacecraft splashes down in the ocean \u2014 what astronauts sometimes describe as a controlled \u201cbellyflop.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Artemis II mission represents a crucial milestone in NASA\u2019s broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually pave the way for crewed missions to Mars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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