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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/orion-arrival-14.jpg?w=1430\")
<\/figure>\nThe Orion spacecraft from Artemis I \u2013 now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article \u2013 arrives at NASA\u2019s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, ahead of eight months of testing. <\/div>\nCredit: NASA\/Jordan Salkin<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Orion spacecraft that traveled around the Moon and back during 2022\u2019s Artemis I mission<\/a> completed a different round trip when it recently returned to Ohio for testing.<\/p>\nNow known as the Orion Environmental Test Article, the spacecraft is undergoing ground testing at NASA\u2019s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This testing is crucial to the safety and success of Artemis II<\/a> \u2013 a 10-day flight test scheduled for 2025, during which four astronauts will demonstrate the spacecraft\u2019s capabilities in the lunar vicinity. The flight will be the first crewed mission under NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>Engineers and technicians at NASA\u2019s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, prepare the Orion Environmental Test Article for testing in advance of the Artemis II mission.
Credit<\/strong>: NASA\/Steven Logan and Jim Zunt<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\nOver the next eight months, engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin will subject the test article to the extreme conditions Orion may experience during a launch abort scenario. The lengthy test campaign includes simulated lightning strikes and abort-level acoustics reaching levels of more than 160 decibels, louder than a jackhammer. It also includes deployments of the spacecraft\u2019s docking and shielding covers and its crew module uprighting system, five airbags on top of the capsule that inflate upon splashdown. The test campaign serves to ensure Orion is ready to protect the crew if an emergency occurs during launch.<\/p>\n
<\/figure>The Orion spacecraft that traveled around the Moon and back during 2022\u2019s Artemis I mission<\/a> completed a different round trip when it recently returned to Ohio for testing.<\/p>\n Now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article, the spacecraft is undergoing ground testing at NASA\u2019s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This testing is crucial to the safety and success of Artemis II<\/a> \u2013 a 10-day flight test scheduled for 2025, during which four astronauts will demonstrate the spacecraft\u2019s capabilities in the lunar vicinity. The flight will be the first crewed mission under NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign.<\/p>\n Over the next eight months, engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin will subject the test article to the extreme conditions Orion may experience during a launch abort scenario. The lengthy test campaign includes simulated lightning strikes and abort-level acoustics reaching levels of more than 160 decibels, louder than a jackhammer. It also includes deployments of the spacecraft\u2019s docking and shielding covers and its crew module uprighting system, five airbags on top of the capsule that inflate upon splashdown. The test campaign serves to ensure Orion is ready to protect the crew if an emergency occurs during launch.<\/p>\n
Credit<\/strong>: NASA\/Steven Logan and Jim Zunt<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
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