The Dawn of Mars Exploration
With NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completing a punishing 4.5-hour test flight, America has entered a new age of space exploration that could one day land astronauts on Mars. After launching 3,600 miles away from Earth at hypersonic speeds, Orion was tasked with orbiting the planet twice and analyzing a radiation-rich cosmic cloud before hurling itself back home in a 20,000 mph, 4,000°F descent flight into the Pacific Ocean. NASA proclaimed the test to be “The most perfect flight you could ever imagine.” See you soon, Mars.
Via theatlantic.com link opens in a new window
