Orion touches down in the Pacific. Artemis Mission of Nasa and Esa

20 minutes before landing, Orion enters the atmosphere at an altitude of almost 122 kilometers. The capsule initially falls to a height of almost 61 kilometers. To put it simply, the capsule heats up due to friction. That’s not entirely wrong, but the actual process is more complicated. Because in addition to friction, something else has a much larger share: Because Orion is so fast, the gases cannot escape. They will be compressed. And like an air pump that you use quickly, the gas heats up. In the case of Orion up to 2,800 degrees Celsius. The capsule works against the atmosphere, so it loses energy and is slowed down.