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NASA's Orion capsule ended its unmanned 25-day moon mission today with a magnificent splashdown off the coast of Mexico.
This paves the way for the space agency's possible 2024 moon mission with four astronauts.
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Voice of ROB NAVIAS, NASA:
And there it is, high over the pacific. America's new ticket to ride to the moon and beyond now in view.
Splash down.
The latest chapter of NASA's journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on earth.
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Orion splashed down off Guadalupe Island in Mexico with a vengeance.
This after barrelling into the atmoshere at a whopping 32 times the speed of sound before slowing down for a gentle landing.
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The most powerful rocket NASA has ever built blasted off on November 16 as part of the Artemis-1 mission.
It then flew for about 268,000 miles with its test dummies on board, and came back with high-resolution images of the lunar surface.
Orion was also captured in a spectacular picture featuring itself, the earth and the moon.
Then Orion reached 40,000 miles beyond the moon -- a record-breaking feat.
A 4-billion-dollar job well-done had NASA's chief in ecstasy.
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BILL NELSON, NASA Administrator:
I'm overwhelmed.
This is an extraordinary day.
We are adventurers. We are explorers. We always have a frontier. And that frontier is now to continue exploring the heavens.
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The Artemis missions are part of NASA's long-term plans to build a space station called "Lunar Gateway" for astronauts to live and work.
The uncrewed flight now beckons an electrifying moon trip by four astronauts possibly in 2024, five decades after the historic 1972 Apollo mission.
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{Rob Navias}
In order to set the stage for the next mission when a crew will be on board.
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