The homeward trip will take in excess of 96 hours, with Artemis II reaching Earth on Friday, April 10. That homecoming could be harrowing. Plunging toward the planet under the growing influence of Earthly gravity, the spacecraft will reach a reentry speed of 25,000, calling for some fancy flying. Spacecraft orbiting the Earth, moving at their standard 17,500 mph, reenter the atmosphere by effectively tapping the breaks of their thrusters or retrorockets, slowing their speed just enough to cause them to fall out of orbit, easing themselves into the exosphere and below. Spacecraft returning from the moon, moving much faster, crash into the atmosphere instead; if a ship tried to fly a straight route to the ground, heat and gravitational energy would pull it apart. Instead, it flies a so-called skip-entry path, roller-coastering into the atmosphere, then up and back into space, then in again, slowing bleeding off heat and gravitational energy along the way. This will ease the spacecraft down to the surface, ultimately allowing it to settle into the waters of the Pacific Ocean at a gentle 15 mph.
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