Seven months after Artemis II’s successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has revealed what those nail-biting moments felt like from inside the Orion spacecraft.
In his new book, Earthrise, an excerpt of which was published by Live Science, Hansen recalled how the spacecraft began violently shaking as it entered Earth’s atmosphere.
The spacecraft’s thrusters produced deafening sounds, “as if Thor himself were hammering on our spacecraft.”
Interestingly, the flames surrounding Orion gradually changed colour from red to bluish-green.
What went through Hansen’s mind?
While temperatures outside the spacecraft approached 1,650 degrees Celsius, Hansen remained surprisingly calm.
However, he felt guilty about putting his wife Catherine and their three children through such a nerve-racking experience.
Hansen revealed that his wife began crying when communications with the spacecraft were restored following a six-minute blackout.
The Canadian astronaut described the subsequent parachute deployment as resembling an amusement park ride.
As three enormous parachutes reduced Orion’s speed to just 27 kilometres per hour, Hansen and fellow astronaut Christina Koch held hands in celebration.
The spacecraft splashed down off the California coast on April 10, just 14 minutes after entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Despite the seemingly terrifying experience, Hansen had an unexpected confession: “I loved every second of it.”
