NASA checks Orion's heat shield, it withstood temperatures of about 2,700°C during Artemis 1 mission

NASA specialists at the Kennedy Space Center are checking the condition of the Orion spaceship’s heat shield, which withstood temperatures of about 2,700°C during its entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The spacecraft, which flew to the Moon as part of the 25-day Artemis 1 mission, orbited it, and successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean on December 11. On December 30, the spacecraft was returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Specialists will disassemble the spacecraft's heat shield and transport it to another facility for further study.

Teams of experts are also inspecting the capsule's windows, as well as the heat shields on the rear hull panels, which protect the spacecraft and its contents from adverse conditions both in space and during entry into the Earth's atmosphere, when the spacecraft is subjected to high speeds and high temperatures.

NASA technicians will take samples of the air inside the capsule before moving it to a maintenance corner where specialists will be able to examine the interior of the capsule.

After opening the spacecraft's hatch, technicians will remove the avionics boxes and payloads inside. To note, the spacecraft contains instruments for experiments, including pilot mannequins with radiation sensors on them, a weightlessness detector, four small Lego figures, a toy dog named Snoopy, and a toy named Shaun the Sheep.

After detailed inspections and tests of the avionics unit, it is planned to be used again for the Artemis 2 mission.

Disassembling of the spacecraft's equipment will continue in the coming months, during which experts will remove the dangerous cargo left on the spacecraft.

The spacecraft will then depart for NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility for further testing.

After the completion of the Artemis 1 mission, NASA plans to launch the Artemis 2 mission which will send astronauts into lunar orbit in 2024, but they will not land on the Moon. But Astronauts will be able to land on the surface of the Moon in 2025, as part of the Artemis 3 mission.