{"id":631064,"date":"2026-04-27T03:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T03:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631064\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T03:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T03:09:12","slug":"photo-of-artemis-ii-heat-shield-looks-like-an-ethereal-underwater-world-but-its-provided-nasa-with-vital-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631064\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo of Artemis II heat shield looks like an ethereal underwater world, but it&#8217;s provided NASA with vital data"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"elk-93f273e3-cc76-4893-9640-d2f319319b63\">You wouldn\u2019t think a resin heat shield would make for a particularly photogenic image, but Orion\u2019s partially-submerged heat shield is the exception. There\u2019s an ethereal beauty to the photograph (above), which US Navy divers took of the component\u2019s underside, shortly after the Artemis II mission\u2019s successful splashdown, off the coast of San Diego on April 10, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The image, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/nasa-on-track-for-future-missions-with-initial-artemis-ii-assessments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/nasa-on-track-for-future-missions-with-initial-artemis-ii-assessments\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\">released by NASA<\/a>, isn\u2019t just an important documentation of humanity\u2019s farthest voyage from Earth, it\u2019s vital in assessing the heat shield\u2019s performance for future missions. The disc of Avcoat was all that separated the four astronauts from a blazing 3,000 degrees during re-entry, as the spacecraft hurtled towards earth at 35x the speed of sound.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:133.33%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bprYMSbPksf36CDCUG8cEC.jpg\" alt=\"The Orion splashes down in the Ocean on April 10\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bprYMSbPksf36CDCUG8cEC.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bprYMSbPksf36CDCUG8cEC.jpg\" class=\"inline expandable\"\/><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bprYMSbPksf36CDCUG8cEC.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"expand-button icon-expand-image icon\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bprYMSbPksf36CDCUG8cEC.jpg\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"><\/p>\n<p>The photograph of the heat shield was taken shortly after Orion&#8217;s successful splashdown (pictured ) (Image credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-067e6fb4-61a7-4e7f-9651-34fe7c1c553d\">The heat shield was one of Orion\u2019s most talked-about components, given that the heat shield present in 2022\u2019s uncrewed Artemis I mission sustained more damage than was expected. According to a <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/01\/23\/science\/artemis-2-orion-capsule-heat-shield\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/01\/23\/science\/artemis-2-orion-capsule-heat-shield\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\">CNN report<\/a>, some experts had raised the alarm over the heat shield\u2019s suitability. Thankfully, it looks like NASA\u2019s investigations into the cause of the problem have paid dividends, with the space agency stating that both the imagery of the component shortly after splashdown and subsequent inspections revealed \u201csignificantly reduced\u201d charring.<\/p>\n<p>Article continues below <\/p>\n<p>            You may like<\/p>\n<p>    <a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-067e6fb4-61a7-4e7f-9651-34fe7c1c553d-1\">With NASA reporting that it\u2019s \u201con Track for Future Missions,\u201d we could see humans back on the lunar surface as early as 2028. The third Artemis mission is currently set to launch in 2027, but the BBC recently reported that Artemis III will not land on the Moon as previously thought.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-you-might-also-like\"\/>You might also like&#8230; <\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-734c005a-a67b-4419-985c-c0f1ba268394\">If you\u2019ve been following NASA\u2019s historic mission around the Moon, you\u2019ll know that photography has played a huge role. <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/cameras\/dslr-cameras\/nasa-chose-an-old-dslr-as-its-primary-artemis-ii-camera-heres-why\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/cameras\/dslr-cameras\/nasa-chose-an-old-dslr-as-its-primary-artemis-ii-camera-heres-why\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/cameras\/dslr-cameras\/nasa-chose-an-old-dslr-as-its-primary-artemis-ii-camera-heres-why\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Did you know that NASA chose an old DSLR as its primary Artemis II camera?<\/a> The Artemis II mission isn\u2019t just science. <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/photography\/the-artemis-ii-mission-isnt-just-science-viral-photos-and-videos-from-the-moon-mission-are-proof-of-the-power-of-a-photograph\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/photography\/the-artemis-ii-mission-isnt-just-science-viral-photos-and-videos-from-the-moon-mission-are-proof-of-the-power-of-a-photograph\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/photography\/the-artemis-ii-mission-isnt-just-science-viral-photos-and-videos-from-the-moon-mission-are-proof-of-the-power-of-a-photograph\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Viral images from the Moon mission are proof of the power of a photograph<\/a>. And if you\u2019re interested in the night sky, take a look at the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/buying-guides\/best-telescopes-for-astrophotography\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/buying-guides\/best-telescopes-for-astrophotography\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.digitalcameraworld.com\/buying-guides\/best-telescopes-for-astrophotography\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best telescopes for astrophotography<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You wouldn\u2019t think a resin heat shield would make for a particularly photogenic image, but Orion\u2019s partially-submerged heat&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[49,48,66,306],"class_list":{"0":"post-631064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}