{"id":193543,"date":"2025-04-01T07:28:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=842642"},"modified":"2025-04-01T07:28:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:28:03","slug":"nasa-trains-for-orion-water-recovery-ahead-of-artemis-ii-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=193543","title":{"rendered":"NASA Trains for Orion Water Recovery Ahead of Artemis II Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, is seen in the Pacific Ocean as teams practice Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Saturday, March 29, 2025. <\/div>\n
NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Preparations for NASA\u2019s next Artemis flight recently took to the seas as a joint NASA and Department of Defense team, led by NASA\u2019s Exploration Ground Systems Program, spent a week aboard the USS Somerset off the coast of California practicing procedures for recovering the Artemis II spacecraft and crew.<\/p>\n

Following successful completion of Underway Recovery Test-12 (URT-12) on Monday, NASA\u2019s Landing and Recovery team<\/a>\u00a0and their Defense Department counterparts are certified to recover the Orion spacecraft as part of the upcoming Artemis II<\/a> test flight that will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be NASA\u2019s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis program,\u201d said Lili Villarreal, the landing and recovery director for Artemis II. \u201cA lot of practice led up to this week\u2019s event, and seeing everything come together at sea gives me great confidence that the air, water, ground, and medical support teams are ready to safely recover the spacecraft and the crew for this historic mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A wave breaks inside the well deck of USS Somerset as teams work to recover the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA), a full scale replica of the Orion spacecraft, as they practice Artemis recovery operations during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Thursday, March 27, 2025.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Once Orion reenters Earth\u2019s atmosphere, the capsule will keep the\u00a0crew<\/a>\u00a0safe as it slows from nearly 25,000 mph to about 325 mph. Then its system of 11 parachutes will deploy in a precise sequence to slow the capsule and crew to a relatively gentle 20 mph for splashdown off the coast of California. From the time it enters Earth\u2019s atmosphere, the Artemis II spacecraft will fly 1,775 nautical miles to its landing spot in the Pacific Ocean. This direct approach allows NASA to control the amount of time the spacecraft will spend in extremely high temperature ranges.<\/p>\n

The Artemis II astronauts trained during URT-11<\/a> in February 2024, when they donned Orion Crew Survival System suits and practiced a range of recovery operations at sea using the Crew Module Test Article, a stand -in for their spacecraft.<\/p>\n

For the 12th training exercise, NASA astronauts Deniz Burnham and Andre Douglas, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, did the same, moving from the simulated crew module to USS Somerset, with helicopters, a team of Navy divers in small boats, NASA\u2019s\u00a0open water lead<\/a> \u2013 a technical expert and lead design engineer for all open water operations \u2013 as well as Navy and NASA medical teams rehearsing different recovery scenarios.<\/p>\n

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Grant Bruner, left, and Gary Kirkendall, right, Orion suit technicians, are seen with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, second from left, and NASA astronauts Deniz Burnham, center, and Andre Douglas, as they prepare to take part in Artemis recovery operations as part of Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Thursday, March 27, 2025. <\/div>\n
NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAllowing astronauts to participate when they are not directly involved in a mission gives them valuable experience by exposing them to a lot of different scenarios,\u201d said Glover, who will pilot Artemis II. \u201cLearning about different systems and working with ground control teams also broadens their skillsets and prepares them for future roles. It also allows astronauts like me who are assigned to the mission to experience other roles \u2013 in this case, I am serving in the role of Joe Acaba, Chief of the Astronaut Office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, right, speaks to NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Deniz Burnham as they prepare to take part in practicing Artemis recovery procedures during Underway Recovery Test-12 onboard USS Somerset off the coast of California, Friday, March 28, 2025.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham smiles after landing in a Navy helicopter onboard USS Somerset during Underway Recovery Test-12 off the coast of California, Thursday, March 27, 2025.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As the astronauts arrive safely at the ship for medical checkouts, recovery teams focus on returning the spacecraft and its auxiliary ground support hardware to the amphibious transport dock.<\/p>\n

Navy divers attach a connection collar to the spacecraft and an additional line to a pneumatic winch inside the USS Somerset\u2019s well deck, allowing joint NASA and Navy teams to tow Orion toward the ship. A team of sailors and NASA recovery personnel inside the ship manually pull some of the lines to help align Orion with its stand, which will secure the spacecraft for its trip to the shore. Following a safe and precise recovery, sailors will drain the well deck of water, and the ship will make its way back to Naval Base San Diego.<\/p>\n

The Artemis II test flight will confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration, taking another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for human missions to Mars.<\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Allison Tankersley<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Public Affairs Specialist<\/div>\n
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