Now that the four astronauts who flew around the moon are safely home, NASA is investigating how its spacecraft fared during the final minutes of the Artemis II mission.The Orion capsule’s heat shield — the protective layer at the bottom engineered to prevent it from burning up during the plunge through Earth’s atmosphere — had a known design flaw. During the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022, parts had cracked and broken off during atmospheric re-entry.Because of that, the Artemis II crew descended faster and at a steeper angle than the path originally planned for the Orion spacecraft, in order to minimize the time it was exposed to the most extreme temperatures.AdvertisementAdvertisementThat approach accomplished its goal — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen emerged in good health and good spirits. Now, the question is: How well did the heat shield actually protect them?In the hours after splashdown, space wonks noticed a large, unusual-looking white patch on the otherwise dark and scorched heat shield. The patch drew attention because it looked like it could be a sign of damage.A white patch is visible on NASA’s Orion capsule as it descends under its main parachutes on Friday. (Josh Valcarcel / NASA)(Josh Valcarcel)NASA did not respond to requests for comment about the state of the heat shield or when a full analysis of its performance would be available.However, in response to a post on X from Eric Berger, an editor at Ars Technica, about the white patch, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the white spot was consistent with the agency’s expectations.AdvertisementAdvertisement“No unexpected conditions were observed,” Isaacman wrote, adding, “the discoloration was not liberated material.”He said the white spot corresponds to the heat shield’s “compression pad area” and aligned with what NASA engineers had seen in pre-flight testing.“I am hesitant to get ahead of a proper data review, but I understand the space community’s curiosity, especially when imagery can give the impression of a problem,” Isaacman wrote. “As you would expect, engineers were eager to inspect the heat shield, starting with diver imagery shortly after splashdown and continuing with the review aboard the ship.”NASA indeed began investigating the Ori …
