Watch Astronauts Test Orion Spaceship Door for Future Mars Trips

Astronauts test Orion Space capsule hatch mockup
Astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Karen Nyberg and Rick Mastracchio (left to right) test the docking hatch on a mock-up of the Orion space capsule. (Image credit: NASA)

Carrying humans to space is a dangerous endeavor, so NASA is thoroughly testing its next-generation human space vehicle. 

NASA's Orion capsule could help astronauts on their way to Mars and other space locations someday. This week, a group of ground-based astronauts demonstrated the kind of testing that Orion is undergoing before it ever carries crewmembers into space.

In a short video released by the space agency, three NASA astronauts are shown testing the docking hatch — which would connect the capsule to a larger vehicle in space — on a mock-up version of Orion. The test will demonstrate how the hatch functions during an emergency situation. 

"Today we're practicing an emergency escape as if we landed in the ocean and we can't use the side hatch because of large waves," NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio said in the video. "So we're practicing egressing out the top of the docking hatch today."

Astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Karen Nyberg and Rick Mastracchio (left to right) test the docking hatch on a mock-up of the Orion space capsule. (Image credit: NASA)

The Orion mock-up is located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Mastracchio was joined in the testing by astronauts Stephanie Wilson and Karen Nyberg.

The Orion spacecraft  can carry two to six crewmembers at a time. The video shows that the quarters aboard Orion are somewhat cramped, and astronauts are intended to stay in the vehicle for only short periods of time. A journey to Mars would require a much larger vehicle for the crew during what could be a nine-month ride to the Red Planet. 

In 2018, NASA plans to make the first test launch of the SLS rocket. During that test, the rocket will send the uncrewed Orion on a trip to the vicinity of the moon. 

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Calla Cofield
Senior Writer

Calla Cofield joined Space.com's crew in October 2014. She enjoys writing about black holes, exploding stars, ripples in space-time, science in comic books, and all the mysteries of the cosmos. Prior to joining Space.com Calla worked as a freelance writer, with her work appearing in APS News, Symmetry magazine, Scientific American, Nature News, Physics World, and others. From 2010 to 2014 she was a producer for The Physics Central Podcast. Previously, Calla worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (hands down the best office building ever) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. Calla studied physics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is originally from Sandy, Utah. In 2018, Calla left Space.com to join NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory media team where she oversees astronomy, physics, exoplanets and the Cold Atom Lab mission. She has been underground at three of the largest particle accelerators in the world and would really like to know what the heck dark matter is. Contact Calla via: E-Mail – Twitter