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NASA\u2019s Artemis 2 mission has successfully journeyed around the far side of the Moon and is currently making its long way back to Earth.<\/p>\n
Just after 8 pm Eastern time today, the Orion spacecraft\u2019s crew module will separate from its service module, which allowed the spacecraft to propel itself through space. Then it\u2019ll slam into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere at full force, at a speed of over 23,000 mph, heating it up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it slows down enough over the next 13 minutes to safely splash down in the Pacific Ocean with the help of three large chutes.<\/p>\n
Absorbing the vast majority of these forces \u2014 and keeping the astronauts safe during reentry \u2014 is Orion\u2019s heat shield, a thick layer of insulating material that has long been mired in controversy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following the conclusion of NASA\u2019s Artemis 1 mission, scientists spotted major cracks across more than 100 locations, as outlined in a 2024 report<\/a> the agency\u2019s Office of Inspector General. Charred chunks had come loose and were missing, highlighting the violent conditions involved while careening through our planet\u2019s atmosphere at extreme speeds.<\/p>\n Experts and former NASA employees continue to ring the alarm bells, warning that the heat shield could put astronauts in danger, especially following the agency\u2019s decision to \u201cmove forward with the current Artemis II Orion capsule and heat shield,\u201d as former NASA administrator Bill Nelson\u00a0announced<\/a> in December 2024 \u2014 albeit with a \u201cmodified entry trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they\u2019re talking about doing is crazy,\u201d former NASA astronaut and heat shield expert Charlie Camarda told\u00a0CNN<\/a> in January. \u201cWe could have solved this problem way back when. Instead, they keep kicking the can down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s leadership maintains that it did its homework to keep the Artemis 2 crew safe during tonight\u2019s reentry. Scientists came up with a revised and steeper \u201cskip reentry\u201d maneuver that will have the Orion spacecraft skip over the atmosphere like a stone, but allow for less time for the temperature to build up compared to Artemis 1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have modified our reentry profile,\u201d NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman reassured the press<\/a> earlier this year. \u201cWe have regained margin to safety, and I feel very good about that with Artemis 2.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery system we\u2019ve demonstrated over the past nine days \u2014 life support, navigation, propulsion, communications \u2014 all of it depends on the final minutes of flight,\u201d NASA associate administrator Amit Kshatriya told reporters<\/a> on Thursday. \u201cWe have high confidence in the system, in the heat shield, and the parachutes and the recovery system that we\u2019ve put together.\u201d<\/p>\n