Artemis I Orion Moon Mission Spacecraft: Heat Shield Inspections | NASA Kennedy

Artemis I Orion Moon Mission Spacecraft: Heat Shield Inspections | NASA Kennedy

Inside the Multi Payload Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians conduct inspections of the heat shield on the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission. Orion returned to Kennedy on Dec. 30, 2022, after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022, following a 25-day mission around the Moon. 

After launching atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Nov. 16, 2022, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, Orion spent 25.5 days in space before returning to Earth, completing the Artemis I mission. Orion stayed in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and returned home faster and hotter than ever before.

The Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and Kennedy Space Center's Exploration Ground Systems. 

Learn more about Artemis I: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i

Image Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)/Skip Williams

Image Date: Jan. 2, 2023

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