Orion spacecraft for Artemis I is put to the test at NASA’s Plum Brook | NASA

Orion spacecraft for Artemis I is put to the test at NASA’s Plum Brook | NASA

Orion spacecraft for Artemis I 

is put to the test at NASA’s 

Plum Brook Station

The Orion spacecraft, consisting of the crew module and European-built service module, has undergone more than three months of testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it was subjected to the extreme temperatures and electromagnetic environment it will experience in the vacuum of space during Artemis missions.

In late-March, Orion will be transported by NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final testing and processing, including integration with the Space Launch System rocket. Orion is a key component of Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight around the Moon that will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024. NASA will then use what it learns on the Moon to prepare to send humans to Mars.

Last Updated: March 11, 2020

Editor: Aimee Crane