Haunting NASA Photo Shows Artemis II Heat Shield in the Ocean

Matt Growcoot
A large turtle seen underwater, showing the textured, patterned surface of its shell and a partially visible head in the bottom left corner, surrounded by dark blue water.
The heat shield that protected the Artemis II astronauts after the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. | Photo by U.S. Navy

NASA has released an underwater photo showing the heat shield that protected the Artemis II crew as they successfully reentered Earth’s atmosphere.

The heat shield was one of the most talked-about parts of the Orion spacecraft, with some wondering whether it was up to the job after the heat shield onboard the uncrewed Artemis I mission showed signs of charring.

A large, circular heat shield with a patchwork of charred tiles is mounted vertically on a blue metal support structure inside an industrial facility.
The charred heat shield from Artemis I. | Photo by NASA

But NASA released a photo of the Artemis II heat shield on Monday that shows it to be in good condition after protecting the crew as their spaceship traveled almost 35 times the speed of sound during reentry.

“Diver imagery of the spacecraft’s heat shield initially taken after splashdown and further inspections on the recovery ship found the char loss behavior observed on Artemis I was significantly reduced, both in terms of quantity and size,” NASA says.

Futurism notes that after the Artemis I heat shield showed signs of damage, experts like retired NASA astronaut Charles Camarda expressed reservations that the heat shield might not be up to task. The trajectory of Artemis II’s reentry was adjusted to minimize the heat build-up.

A space capsule with three orange-and-white parachutes descends toward the ocean, with a sailboat visible in the background. An inset zooms in on the capsule approaching the water's surface.
People noticed the white mark on the underside of Orion (enlarged), but NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman assuaged fears. | Photo by NASA/Josh Valcarcel.

One photo showing the Orion spacecraft parachuting down into the Pacific Ocean raised eyebrows after it appeared to show a chunk of material missing from underneath where the heat shield is located. But as Gizmodo reports, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said it was an expected ablation.

“The discoloration was not liberated material,” he said on April 12. “The white color observed corresponds to the compression pad area and is consistent with the local geometry, AVOCAT byproducts, and transitional heating environments. We observed this behavior in arc jet testing and expected it in this compression pad area.”

While initial assessments about the heat shield’s performance are good, the space agency will inspect it more closely in the coming months.

This past weekend, PetaPixel staff picked their favorite photos from Artemis II.

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