Artemis II Astronauts Review Return Journey, Heat Shield Charring Draws Attention

(Central News Agency, Colorado Springs, April 16, comprehensive foreign report) Astronauts from NASA's historic Artemis II lunar orbit mission stated that the re-entry into Earth's atmosphere was smooth, but the mission commander mentioned some charring on the critical heat shield of the "Orion" spacecraft.

Reuters reported that the four Artemis II astronauts splashed down in the Pacific on April 10, concluding a nearly 10-day test flight. They orbited the far side of the moon in the teardrop-shaped "Orion" spacecraft, setting a human record for the farthest flight from Earth.

The final stage of this high-risk mission was a critical test of the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft, which plunged back into Earth's atmosphere at approximately Mach 32. NASA plans to use Orion again next year for another Earth orbit flight before a lunar landing.

Mission Commander Reid Wiseman told reporters at the first press conference after returning to Earth, "We were going fast, and it was hot."

NASA engineers will meticulously examine a large amount of data in the coming months to evaluate the Orion spacecraft's performance. They will likely pay close attention to the spacecraft's heat shield. This critical protective layer shields astronauts from temperatures as high as 5000 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 2760 degrees Celsius) during space return.

In the 2022 uncrewed Artemis I mission, the Orion's heat shield suffered damage far exceeding NASA's expectations, with tiny cracks appearing and some ablative material burning off during re-entry, prompting NASA to launch a two-year in-depth investigation.

NASA did not upgrade the heat shield but adjusted Artemis II's re-entry angle and trajectory to reduce thermal intensity.

Wiseman stated that he and mission pilot Victor Glover "probably saw two instances of slight ablative charring" during re-entry.

Wiseman said that when they inspected the spacecraft on the Navy ship that recovered it at sea, he saw "a little bit of ablative charring at what we call the shoulder position," referring to the edge of the heat shield.

After the Artemis II astronauts returned to Earth, photos of the spacecraft showed an unusual white mark on the edge of the heat shield. However, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman downplayed external concerns, stating that similar situations occurred during high-temperature ground tests.

Isaacman told Reuters on April 13, "There was no chunking off." He said he had seen underwater photos of the heat shield floating in the sea after the spacecraft splashed down, "The heat shield performed as expected, and I'm glad we finally completed this mission." (Compiler: Lu Ying-tzu) 1150417

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