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Orion is modular in design like its Mercury, Gemini and Apollo forebears. The spacecraft consists of a launch abort system located at the very top of the ensemble, a crew module, a crew service module and a spacecraft adapter.
The crew module, also called the exploration vehicle, is based on the cone shaped Apollo capsule, but larger, accommodating up to six crew in 11 cubic metres. The stepping stone approach of this new mission will see the capsule first visit the International Space Station delivering cargo and two crew, before continuing to its lunar destination.
The Orion mission will be able to land all four of its remaining crew on the surface of the Moon. This is double the capacity of the Apollo missions, which retained one of its team of three, orbiting in the crew service module above.
The crew module, also called the exploration vehicle, is based on the cone shaped Apollo capsule, but larger, accommodating up to six crew in 11 cubic metres. The stepping stone approach of this new mission will see the capsule first visit the International Space Station delivering cargo and two crew, before continuing to its lunar destination.
The Orion mission will be able to land all four of its remaining crew on the surface of the Moon. This is double the capacity of the Apollo missions, which retained one of its team of three, orbiting in the crew service module above.
