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Artemis II heat shield: NASA finds just 9 char-loss spots against 103 on Artemis I

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Update: TrendDesh reported on 15 October that NASA will brief on Artemis III on 23 October. This report covers NASA's new heat shield findings.

NASA said on 15 October 2026 that detailed analysis of the Artemis II heat shield confirms it performed as expected when Orion returned four astronauts from their trip around the Moon. Engineers found only nine spots of char loss on the heat shield, compared with 103 on the uncrewed Artemis I flight.

Artemis II heat shield: The Artemis I (left) and Artemis II (right) Orion heat shields after removal from their crew modules
The Artemis I (left) and Artemis II (right) Orion heat shields after removal from their crew modules Photo: NASA (public domain).

What NASA found on the Artemis II heat shield

Orion reached a top speed of 39 times the speed of sound and faced outside temperatures above 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, while the cabin stayed in the mid-70s Fahrenheit, NASA said. The shield is made of 186 blocks of an ablative material called Avcoat. The shorter allowed downrange distance during entry cut cracking and char loss by a factor of ten compared with Artemis I, NASA said, proving that the trajectory change worked. The Eastern Herald also reported the nine-versus-103 comparison. Samples were extracted and X-ray scans began in August at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

Key Facts

  • Char-loss spots: 9 on Artemis II vs 103 on Artemis I
  • Top speed on return: 39 times the speed of sound
  • Outside heat: above 4,000°F
  • Splashdown: 10 April 2026, 0.59 miles from target
  • Heat shield: 186 Avcoat blocks

Why NASA changed Orion's reentry

After Artemis I, the heat shield lost more charred material than expected. Following tests at NASA’s Ames Research Center, the agency shortened the maximum downrange distance Orion could fly between entering the atmosphere and splashing down. This limited how long the shield spent in the temperature range linked to the Artemis I problem. On Artemis II, Orion entered within 192 feet of its target entry point and splashed down only 0.59 miles from the predicted spot off San Diego on 10 April 2026. US Navy divers photographed the shield underwater just after splashdown. Artemis II was the first time astronauts flew aboard Orion. The crew module was offloaded from the USS John P. Murtha at Naval Base San Diego on 18 April and later taken to Kennedy Space Center for inspection. NASA said the seams between Avcoat blocks also performed consistently from Artemis I to Artemis II.

What it means for Artemis III

NASA said the backshell, made of 1,300 ceramic tiles, also performed as expected. The heat shield for Artemis III has been upgraded to make the Avcoat blocks more uniform. It was attached to the Orion crew module at Kennedy Space Center in early July, and the spacecraft has since been powered up for the first time. Artemis III is planned for next year in low Earth orbit, with NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas and ESA’s Luca Parmitano. They will meet lander test articles from Blue Origin and SpaceX, ahead of a planned landing on Artemis IV in 2028.

Why It Matters: A heat shield that works is the last barrier between astronauts and fatal heat on the way home, so this result clears a key hurdle for future Moon landings.

Also on TrendDesh: Artemis III update: NASA to brief on its Moon timeline and next year's test flight on 23 October · NASA Moon battery: solid-state SPEARS cells built to survive the lunar South Pole cold

Source: NASA · The Eastern Herald

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