Spread your wings 🕊️ Before NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the #Artemis II mission can be outfitted with its solar array wings, teams at @NASAKennedy Space Center must first verify that the arrays extend and close properly. On March 17, 2023, technicians extended one of the wings to confirm all mechanisms operate as expected. Orion will have four total solar wings, drawing in 11 kilowatts of power from the Sun to provide the spacecraft with propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power. The solar arrays will be installed on Orion’s service module – built by Airbus and provided by @EuropeanSpaceAgency – which supplies life support consumables including water, oxygen, and nitrogen to the astronauts aboard. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on NASA’s path toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon. The mission will send @NASAAstronauts @Astro_Reid, @AstroVicGlover, @Astro_Christina, and CSA (@CanadianSpaceAgency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day flight test around t...