I agree with BP and Tatiana. I can't imagine the engineering, the mathematical calculations. The physics!
Think about this: The Artemis was travelling at a reported 24,000 feet per second upon entry of the atmosphere. Now remember, a basic 30-06 shooting 180 grain bullet will be somewhere around 2600-2800 feet per second. At that speed, we could not have a chance at seeing the capsule. That speed is generated by earth's gravity. But how does it slow down? If the capsule were to continue at that speed and impact the Pacific, it would be similar to detonating a small nuclear bomb and displace water in such violence that the displacement caused by the vapor cavity would be 60-100 meters across, and the energy equivalent to approximately 50 TONS of TNT!
But of course, the atmosphere slows things down. But at that speed, air molecules can't get out of the way fast enough and get compressed. It turns into plasma, which is what causes intense 5000-degree heat.
Then the heat shields, the suits, the absolute zero temperatures, the violence of launch and re-entry, the "steering", the lack of gravity, and a million other things. One of the many things that boggle my mind in all this is the exact calculations that, with total precision, tell us when and where that capsule will land, before launch.
Just incredible. Thank you Yuri. Thank you Elon. Thank you NASA. And it is still The Final Frontier. (Oh, and thank you William Shatner!).
