# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DDX25AZv1XA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/25376145-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d9ea56a039.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-12-09T21:31:03.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

More details on the heat shield.⁣
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After extensive analysis and testing, engineers determined that as Orion was returning from its uncrewed Artemis I mission using a skip guidance entry, gases generated inside the heat shield’s ablative outer material called Avcoat were not able to vent and dissipate as expected. This allowed pressure to build up and cracking to occur, causing some charred material to break off in several locations.⁣
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Knowing that permeability of Avcoat is a key parameter to avoid or minimize char loss, we have the right information to assure crew safety on Artemis II with a modified entry trajectory and improve performance of future Artemis heat shields.⁣
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For the Artemis II crewed test flight, engineers will continue to prepare Orion with the heat shield already attached to the capsule. We are now targeting April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III. The updated mission timelines also reflect time to address the Orion environmental control and life support systems.⁣
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Image descriptions:⁣
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1. The Artemis II Orion spacecraft is lifted from the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell and placed in the west altitude chamber inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’S Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 28, 2024. Inside the altitude chamber, the spacecraft underwent a series of tests simulating deep space vacuum conditions.⁣
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2. After NASA’s Orion spacecraft was recovered at the conclusion of the Artemis I test flight and transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, its heat shield was removed from the crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building and rotated for inspection.⁣
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3. A test block of Avcoat undergoes heat pulse testing inside an arc jet test chamber at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. The test article, configured with both permeable (upper) and non-permeable (lower) Avcoat sections for comparison, helped to confirm understanding of the root cause of the loss of charred Avcoat material that engineers saw on the Orion spacecraft after the Artemis I test flight beyond the Moon.⁣
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Credit: NASA

#Orion #Spacecraft #Moon #HeatShield #Astronaut

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## Tags

heatshield, moon, spacecraft, astronaut, orion

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