Guess What This Creepy Underwater Thing Is That Was Photographed by US Navy Divers for NASA
Futurism • • science
Key Points:
- NASA shared a photo of the charred heat shield from the Artemis 2 Orion capsule after its Pacific Ocean landing on April 10, showing significant improvements compared to the damage sustained during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022.
- The heat shield, crucial for protecting astronauts during reentry at speeds over 23,000 mph, performed as expected with reduced char loss and no unusual conditions, suggesting that NASA’s adjusted reentry trajectory was effective.
- The crew and spacecraft were safeguarded by the thermal protection system, with even reflective tape surviving reentry, indicating strong protection for the four astronauts aboard Artemis 2.
- The heat shield will undergo further detailed examination at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center, including sample extraction and internal x-ray scans.
- NASA also plans to investigate and fix issues with the capsule’s space toilet, which experienced clogging problems during the mission, to ensure improvements for Artemis 3.
