A new deep space capsule from NASA, Orion, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean last night following a successful test flight.

It blasted off from a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in its first test flight.

All systems appear to have functioned well during the flight.

Potential future missions for Orion - which is designed to fit four people at a time - include a mission to an asteroid and a journey to Mars by the 2030s.

It was the first launch in more than 40 years of a US spacecraft intended to carry humans beyond the Moon.

Orion blasted off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at just after 7am local time (12pm Irish time) from Cape Canaveral in Florida yesterday.

The rocket blasted off just after 12pm Irish time yesterday | Image: NASA

It then completed a flawless test flight around the Earth. The unmanned, four-hour flight is tested crucial systems, like the heat shield and parachute splashdown.

According to mission control, Orion successfully reached its peak altitude of 3,604 statute miles - that is the furthest any spaceship has been away from Earth since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

"Today's flight test of Orion is a huge step for NASA and a really critical part of our work to pioneer deep space on our Journey to Mars," said NASA administrator Charles Bolden.

"The teams did a tremendous job putting Orion through its paces in the real environment it will endure as we push the boundary of human exploration in the coming years".

Watch Orion's descent from space below: