I couldn't resist.

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I can't wait. I just hope they keep up the ambition and don't get sidetracked. The ambition of the space program drives the desire to work in science for the generations of kids under it. If we can start sending people to the moon with some regularity, many of our kids will want to work towards that kind of goal. Which is a great thing.

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Really, Wikipedia is there for everyone:

[en.wikipedia.org]

To recap:
-- Yes, it's a capsule like Apollo. It's a proven design (it worked before, didn't it?) and safer: it can eject in the event of failure on liftoff (remember Challenger?) and the capsule design is safer on reentry (remember Columbia?).

-- That said, it's larger than Apollo (bigger crew), reusable (not as many times as the Shuttle, but in practice they'll get several flights out of each Orion capsule), and high-tech (glass cockpit).

-- For Moon missions, the Orion is just the command module. Just like the Apollo missions, there's a service module component, and the lunar lander (the Altair). It's just that all of them are scaled up from Apollo, using new technology.

The difference from Apollo, however, is that the crew in Orion will be launched separately (on a smaller Ares I rocket) and then rendezvous with the Earth Departure Stage (launched into Earth orbit by the Ares V), then use the combined vehicle to go to the Moon and back.

[en.wikipedia.org]

-- Once on the Moon, there's a chance for other deliveries for a permanent outpost. The first few missions will probably live out of the Altair just like the Apollo astronauts did, but in a short time there will be permanent structures built, either above ground or below ground.

-- For Mars missions, the Orion would just be single modular component of a *much* larger spacecraft, built in Earth orbit. Think ISS, but with engines. Crew isn't going to spend months (or years) cooped up in the command module, they'll have a larger living space available. And there will likely be supply missions sent to Mars-- stuff already waiting on the ground to help the crew when they land.

But we're a long way away (in time AND budget) from all that.

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Three years in an Apollo capsule.

Three years in an Apollo capsule.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

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