NASA Splash Tests Mars-Bound Orion Spacecraft At Over 25mph

Next stop...Mars
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NASA’s Orion spacecraft has been going through the kind of rigorous training that would put a Rocky montage to shame.

The latest, and one of the last, tests involved firing the craft into a body of water at 25mph, which doesn’t sound fast until you see the splash that it created.

Splash testing allows NASA to analyse one of the most crucial roles for the spacecraft: Its ability to return all the astronauts safely back to Earth.

Orion might look very similar to previous spacecraft designs but on the inside they’re very different. Orion is actually larger and as such has far more space for the crew, a vital component if they’re going to be using it to get to the Moon and Mars.

To see the test watch the video above or check out this tour of the interior of Orion:

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