The Orion from the historic Artemis I had a near-identical heat shield to the one in Artemis II, and upon its re-entry, its heat shield suffered damage.
NASA is sending some astronauts on a little trek out of Earth’s orbit and around the moon, which is just the start of its current plans to send crewed missions back to the lunar surface. This is an unprecedented and extraordinary time for space exploration as the new-age space race aims to expand what is known about Earth’s celestial neighbors, but there’s one glaring issue with Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft that most experts are worried about. As it turns out, the heat shield on the craft — a special coating on the bottom of the craft to help protect inhabitants from extreme temperatures — may be faulty if the prior mission is any indication.
The Orion from the historic Artemis I had a near-identical heat shield, and upon its re-entry, its heat shield suffered damage. As the initial coating charred, it didn’t break off as predicted but instead left cavities in the material.
