- NASA has successfully demonstrated the Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system.
- The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is a US-European spacecraft intended to carry a crew of four astronauts to space.
- The Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system test was a part of NASA’s preparation for Artemis missions to the Moon.
- The exercise aimed to test in almost real-life conditions the evacuation of astronauts from the Orion capsule in the event of an explosion or other problem shortly after launch of the rocket.
- ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun. It will be a manned moon mission, originally scheduled to be launched in June 2020.