Orion Exploration Mission 1 infographic Airbus

The first mission for Orion and the European Service Module will send the spacecraft beyond the Moon and back. This Exploration Mission-1 will not carry a crew but will instead be controlled from the ground.

It will be launched by the Space Launch System from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The spacecraft will enter a low-Earth orbit before the rocket’s upper stage fires to take it into a translunar orbit.

The spacecraft will perform a flyby of the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70 000 km beyond the Moon, almost half a million km from Earth – further than any human has ever travelled.

On its return journey, Orion will do another flyby of the Moon before heading back to Earth. 

The total trip will take around 20 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean without the European Service Module – it separates and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

The second Exploration Mission will have a similar flight plan but with four astronauts.