See NASA recover an Orion spacecraft in the most beautiful way

NASA captured this photo of the Nov. 1 recovery operation at sunset on the Pacific.

Photo edited by NASA/Ron Beard, photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

Nov. 1 was a lovely day off the US West Coast. The Pacific Ocean grew dark beneath vibrant red ribbons of sunset. NASA was there to capture it all on video as it conducted a test recovery mission of an Orion spacecraft crew capsule.

The footage is splendid to behold, a melding of science with the art of nature.

NASA posted the video on Thursday and it shows the Navy's USS John P. Murtha ship accepting the test Orion capsule into its hold to the tune of an ethereal soundtrack. The sunset slashes across the horizon, lending an otherworldly look to the proceedings.

NASA has its eyes on the moon and Mars and it's developing the Orion spacecraft as a way to take humans to destinations beyond Earth orbit. The space agency is planning for an unmanned Orion mission around the moon for 2020 with the goal of sending a crew in 2023.

When astronauts return to Earth in Orion some day, they'll be slowed by parachutes before reaching the water. NASA and the US Navy are conducting a series of ocean tests to verify the capsule recovery procedures.

It'll be a bonus if our future space travelers are treated to the same sort of jaw-dropping sunset NASA just witnessed.

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