Orion’s successful launch brings Mars closer

NASA successfully launched its Orion spacecraft on 5 December 2014. It may not sound like much when rocket launches are not uncommon but the Orion spacecraft is more significant than the seemingly routine satellite launches we see online.

According to NASA:

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.

Human space travel seems pretty remote when we are more concerned about electricity supply to our homes but in the bigger picture, Orion’s launch points to a brighter future for our species and perhaps even its future survival.

Here is a great close-up video of the launch itself:

http://youtu.be/TDYK_qW6qHE