Overview
- Orion, which left the Moon’s sphere of influence Tuesday afternoon Eastern time, is executing planned course-correction burns on the trip home.
- NASA targets a Pacific splashdown off San Diego on April 10 after the crew’s 10‑day loop around the Moon.
- Mission teams are verifying the capsule’s thermal protection as Orion will hit the atmosphere at over 30 times the speed of sound, heating the exterior above about 2,760°C.
- High‑resolution flyby photos reached Earth after an optical laser link came online, including views of an Earthset over the lunar horizon and a total solar eclipse from deep space.
- The flight reached a reported human‑spaceflight distance record of about 252,760 miles from Earth, and the crew held a brief audio call with astronauts on the International Space Station in what was reported as the first such in‑space link.